"Hong Kong faced a fresh threat to its tenuous freedoms and autonomy on Tuesday, as the Chinese government admonished the city’s judiciary..."

"... after a court overturned a ban on demonstrators wearing face masks. The central government’s Hong Kong affairs office said that Monday’s judgment 'blatantly challenged the authority' of China’s legislature and of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, and created 'severe negative social and political impact.' The pointed remarks were perhaps the most stark and public instance of the Beijing government weighing in on a judicial decision in Hong Kong, which is guaranteed independent courts under the Basic Law, its mini-constitution. The intervention underlined one of the central grievances of Hong Kong’s protest movement — encroachment by the mainland government on the semiautonomous territory’s affairs — and came after days of violent clashes on university campuses."

From "China slams Hong Kong judges after mask ruling, raising pressure on city’s freedoms" (WaPo).