People enjoy food at a music and beer festival at Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong, south China, July 19, 2014. (Xinhua/Liu Yun)
Unlike previous years, Lan Kwai Fong was not heavily decorated for Halloween this year, while rows of water-filled barriers were deployed as a precaution on the narrow streets and policemen with riot-control gears could be seen at different intersections in the area before nightfall.
HONG KONG, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Lan Kwai Fong, a famous nightclub zone in Hong Kong's Central district that is popular with Halloween revelers, saw a low-profile Halloween eve on Thursday, as many restaurants and bars closed early for safety concerns due to an unauthorized protest.
Posts on LIHKG, an online forum frequently used to initiate illegal demonstrations during the months-long unrest in Hong Kong, have been calling for a march on Thursday evening from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to Lan Kwai Fong.
The Hong Kong police have warned that the planned march is an unauthorized assembly that will pose serious threat to public order and public safety, and reminded shops in the vicinity to be updated with the latest situation and close earlier if necessary so as to ensure the safety of lives and properties.
Rioters set fire at Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, south China, Oct. 4, 2019. (Xinhua)
Unlike previous years, Lan Kwai Fong was not heavily decorated for Halloween this year, while rows of water-filled barriers were deployed as a precaution on the narrow streets and policemen with riot-control gears could be seen at different intersections in the area before nightfall.
Road closure measures were implemented much earlier than previous years in the area. Several streets around the area were closed from 2 p.m. on Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.
The MTR Corporation, the operator of Hong Kong's mass transit railway, also said earlier Thursday that considering the risk level for this day, the Central Station near Lan Kwai Fong would be closed from 9 p.m. local time.
Concerns for safety have left many shops in Lan Kwai Fong with low expectations for business on the Halloween eve. A waiter of a restaurant surnamed Lee said the number of customers might decrease by over 60 percent compared with the same period of previous years.
Lan Kwai Fong Association, a non-profit organization that groups over 100 businesses in the area, said there would be no special promotion for Halloween this year due to the recent social atmosphere in Hong Kong.
People with Halloween make-ups play in Lan Kwai Fong area of Hong Kong, south China, Oct. 31, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhao Yusi)
As the prolonged unrest gripped Hong Kong for over four months, the restaurant and bar sector has seen a remarkable decline in the number of both local customers and visitors, and hundreds of businesses in the sector have been forced to shut down across Hong Kong.
In Lan Kwai Fong, some restaurants that used to be busy were also found closed with leasing ads on their reel gates.
Restaurants and bars were not the only businesses that were suffering. At one entrance of the area, a costume vendor surnamed Wong told Xinhua that he expected a fall by more than half in his sales for the festival this year compared with previous years.
"I don't have high expectations this year. I just hope the community will return to normal soon and the business for next year will improve," he said. ■
