Hong Kong's running community is in shock after learning that the Hong Kong Police has banned all running events until further notice, claiming that running events pose security risks and is a threat to public safety.
The Police defended its decision by claiming that crowds would gather during running events and there is a risk of runners and spectators (illegally) occupying the sections of the race course after the completion of the race. There is also a risk of runners veering off course (either by accident or on purpose), causing danger to drivers, passengers and pedestrians using those roads.
The Police also stated that many runners and spectators wear costumes during the race, with some wearing similar outfits. This would make them difficult to identify — even though runners are required to wear bibs, they may run in groups and switch bibs during the race, only wearing the bib assigned to them when they pass checkpoints. In addition, some costumes cover the wearers' faces, which may be considered a violation of the anti-mask law by some officers.
Runners may wear flags or T-shirts with messages written on them and spectators may hold signs supporting runners or certain causes. The Police feared that other runners or spectators may find the messages offensive. In addition, police officers often take part in races. Some may wear items which identify them as officers. This may lead to verbal exchanges or, worse, physical confrontations between runners and spectators. Given their physical conditions, the runners may be difficult to capture or arrest.
The Police is also considering banning running club gatherings due to risk of illegal assembly. A ban on other sporting events, especially sports which require the use of items (i.e. potential arms) such as racket sports (tennis and badminton), athletics (javelin, discus, poles vaults), hockey, baseball/cricket, paddle sports (dragon boat and canoeing) is also considered due to their dangerous nature.
(If the above sounds ridiculous, the Hong Kong Police did indeed banned a 10K race from being held at the end of this month, only to overturn its decision later.)