An exhibition on the spirit of protest in Hong Kong was cut short when hygiene officials declared the event a breach of social-distancing laws related to COVID-19.

According to the organizers, the event was meant to “collect the stories and sentiments” of Lennon Wall volunteers, to lift the spirits of Hongkongers. Inspired by the original Lennon Wall in Prague, Hong Kong protesters set up similar message boards across the city in 2019.

The exhibition was held at a Mong Kok building and ran from Dec. 24 to 27. One of the organizers, Brandon, told Apple Daily that officials from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department visited the venue twice on the exhibition’s opening day.

“They came early in the morning and said we were hosting an unlicensed exhibition. They told us to remove all fixtures that were related to the exhibition,” he said, adding that the officials claimed to have received complaints from the public.

The officials later returned and took photographs of the venue, adding that they reserved the right to take legal action, Brandon said.

The officials said that any venue hosting an exhibition would be classified as a “place of public entertainment” under the law – which must then be closed due to social-distancing laws imposed in light of COVID-19.

The organizers cancelled the exhibition, and instead had volunteers verbally describe its contents to attendees. A Christmas fair that was running concurrently in the same location was allowed to continue.

“Our team has planned the event for a few months … and it is regrettable that we could not properly show the exhibits to the public,” Brandon said. The exhibition was organized in honor of a jailed Lennon Wall volunteer, he added.

A vendor who took part in the Christmas fair said the event was meant to show that the protest movement’s spirit was still alive. “Why is an exhibition or a Christmas fair such a big problem? We weren’t doing anything criminal,” he said.

An attendee surnamed Wong told Apple Daily that it has become the new normal for authorities to restrict political events on the pretext of controlling the epidemic. “I don’t want to accept it but that’s the reality,” she said.

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