Hong Kong authorities are bracing as pro-democracy protesters urged people on Thursday to celebrate Halloween by wearing masks on a march in defiance of a government ban on face coverings. Organizers are calling on supporters of the protest movement to take part in a “masquerade” that will put to the test a recent government ban on masks at public gatherings aimed at quelling the increasingly violent protests now in their fifth month. Digital fliers circulated online called on people to wear masks depicting Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior officials.