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HK police deserve the full support and respect of citizens

By Chow Pak-chin | China Daily Asia | Updated: 2019-08-12 15:37

The police attempt to disperse masked protesters after the illegal protest turns radical and violent in late night on July 27, 2019. [Photo/China Daily]

A week is a long time in politics. This well-worn phrase can now be extended to include the Hong Kong Police Force, which has been subjected to rapidly changing public views during the past few weeks of protests in the city.

The Hong Kong police, widely recognized as “Asia’s finest”, have become the focus of public anger as protests against the now-suspended extradition bill rage on. When the first large-scale protests began in early June, it was they who quickly came to be seen as public enemy No 1 — an unenviable result of their frontline role in the maintenance of law and order.

Public anger was raised over their crowd-control tactics, including the use of tear gas and rubber bullets. Criticism was leveled at some officers who were accused of hiding their badges to avoid identification.

Amid rising political tensions in the city, the police, inevitably, have borne the brunt of public anger over a range of issues, including, but not limited to, the extradition bill. In the face of recent political upheaval, our police force continues to stand firm and carry out its mandate to maintain public safety and order. That Hong Kong is still one of the safest cities in the world is due largely to the professionalism and dedication of our police force, which truly deserves its reputation as “Asia’s finest”.

Before officers take last-resort crowd-control actions, such as the use of tear gas, they warn protesters and passersby of the risks they may be exposed to should they decide to remain at the scene. In the chaotic heat of protests, our police officers have, time and again, conducted themselves in a restrained manner. They have properly maintained law and order and ensured public safety.

Many will have noticed the police use of different color-coded flags — orange, red and black — to indicate the severity of the situation. They relay their imminent escalation of actions to the public. This system is designed to ensure that everyone has sufficient notice to disperse or leave the scene. There are not many places in the world where police officers warn the public and protesters in advance of their crowd-control moves. Such a warning-before-action system is designed specifically to minimize harm or serious injury to protesters.

On many occasions, protesters have ignored these warnings and pushed violently toward officers, endangering not only the safety of those officers, but their own safety and that of innocent bystanders. Facing protesters armed with iron bars and throwing bricks, police officers have responded with appropriate force to ensure their own protection while controlling the situation at hand.

In the course of carrying out their duties, some officers have suffered physical attacks and been subjected to verbal abuse. In some instances, officers’ staff cards were photographed without their knowledge and then uploaded online. Some posts even revealed the identities of their family members. Not surprisingly, many officers hid their staff cards to avoid identification. This has in turn incurred the wrath of their critics, which is hypocritical since protesters habitually wear face masks to protect their identities.

There can be little hope of reducing the physical and emotional pressure on police officers in the coming weeks, as protests continue to rage throughout the city. Police officers on the street have become easy targets, not only for protesters, but for members of the public who happen to have to vent their anger. Often they have been attacked with umbrellas, iron bars, bricks and sometimes even targeted by laser pointers, the use of which could cause permanent eye damage.

Despite the physical and verbal abuse, police officers are duty-bound to uphold the law and protect the public. There is little that they could do by way of getting even. They continue to bear the brunt of public outrage as the political conflict rages on between the government and certain sections of Hong Kong society.

While so much excessive violence is being leveled at police, the political opposition is trying hard to argue that police use disproportionate force and heavy-handed tactics. In similar situations of unrest overseas, Western countries included, the use of baton charges to beat up protesters and the firing of tear gas without warning are common. The people of Hong Kong need to be reminded that, had this happened anywhere else in the world, the force used by officers would most likely have been far more severe, and possibly even deadly.

Take the recent protests against the government in Moscow as an example. An estimated 1,300 people were arrested during these protests over alleged government rigging of upcoming local elections. The police were seen beating up demonstrators with batons and violently arresting many participants — causing serious injuries to some.

And in London in April, during the climate change protests, some 1,000 demonstrators were arrested, and at the end of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2012, nearly 8,000 were apprehended.

Many authorities use mass arrests to deter the continuation of violence. Maybe this is an action our own police force should consider to deter protesters pushing the limits, and to enable them to regain control of a deteriorating situation?

Concerning the request for an independent inquiry into police actions during the protests in Hong Kong, there is already a mechanism in place — the Independent Police Complaints Council — to investigate complaints made by the public. The IPCC is well-equipped and versed in international standards. It is able to assess whether these protests should, instead, be classified as riots.

Anyone who calls for the setting up of an independent inquiry to look into the recent series of protests — and the conduct of police officers in these events — should be cautioned. Such a move will likely result in a backlash as it hits police morale. This will, ultimately, feed through to the public, and the general law and order situation will deteriorate.

Any independent inquiry, if there is ever to be one, should be to investigate the conduct of the protesters, and not the police who, all along, have been acting on behalf of law and order, and with the ultimate safety of the Hong Kong public and the security of our city in mind.

We should, indeed, expose those who are the masterminds of the protests, those who have been inciting the young people, those who have been orchestrating their moves, and those who have been providing unlimited resources.

As for our brave police officers who have been at the forefront of violent attacks and abuse in the past few weeks, the Hong Kong people need to appreciate “Asia’s finest”, and give them the support and the respect they truly deserve.

The author is president of Wisdom Hong Kong, a local think tank.

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