I feel blessed to live in one of China’s special administrative regions – there are hardly safer places on Earth if we also take into account the freedoms enjoyed by the citizens here. While the police cannot be credited alone for this achievement, they account for a very significant part of the reason we have such low criminality. The force works day in, day out, to ensure that you can go to the darkest corner of this region and return unharmed. In a time and place where becoming a banker, a doctor or a lawyer is supposedly more appealing, the police are still able to recruit people on the basis of the dignity of the profession and the inherently humbling glory of being on the front line when it comes to serving our community. That is, I assume, what drives our police officers to put on that uniform every day, patrol the streets and even take up mundane tasks, including managing traffic or standing guard, sometimes in dreadful weather. It seems elementary to explain this, but the force, though it is a part of the government, does not draft or approve policies, it only executes orders. It thus seems obvious that any grievances that people have with policies (or proposals therein) should not be lodged with the police. The force is there to protect and maintain public order, not define it. All of this leads us to the unacceptable way the police in Hong Kong have been treated by some members of the community. I refer in particular to the protesters that surrounded the police headquarters with the intention of stopping officers from entering or leaving the premises. Also incomprehensible is the attitude of those berating police officers stationed at public hospitals. Those engaging in such conduct are not only being disrespectful towards the individuals whose job it is to protect the community, they are also hindering the force from doing its work and thus putting other people at risk. We have just witnessed the result of a lack of order – the chaos at the Legislative Council building that in no way represents what this region stands for and the rule of law that it embodies. No wonder the police officers inside opted to retreat after being accused of supposedly excessive force previously, when they were doing nothing more than their job. We need to believe the institution still works, as it is at the core of the rule of law that is one of the principles on which this region stands. There is a fine balance between the freedom of expression and its abuse – some forget where that line lies. Jose Alvares, Macau