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Police chief cuts trip short in bid to halt protest

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Commissioner of Police Tang King-shing has cut short an overseas visit and rushed back to Hong Kong for an urgent meeting today with police staff representatives in an effort to head off their plans for a march on Sunday to protest over pay levels.

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He made his move as two top government officials tried to dissuade the officers from staging the march - urging them to consider the effect it would have on the force's public image.

Mr Tang left on June 12 for meetings on police co-operation in France, Britain and the Netherlands, and was to have returned on Saturday. A police spokeswoman said the commissioner would fly in this morning. A police source said an urgent meeting between Mr Tang and representatives of the four staff associations involved in the protest would be held this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen said officers considering taking part in the protest should think about its impact on public perceptions of the police, and urged them to 'treasure' the force's respectable public image.

Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong said he would not encourage officers to take their grievances to the streets, adding that the protest might damage the force's positive image.

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Legislative Council security panel vice-chairman James To Kun-sun said even the commissioner's speedy return might not persuade the associations to call off the protest.

The march is due to start at 10am on Sunday and proceed from Harcourt Garden next to police headquarters in Arsenal Street along Queensway to government headquarters in Central. Off-duty officers who join the march have been asked to wear clothes in police colours - white or blue - or to wear T-shirts with a police badge.

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