My Take | Don’t blame police for arresting child protesters
- Hong Kong Paediatric Foundation should offer expert help to police, not grandstand with unfounded accusations about the treatment of underage detainees
Children need protection, including especially those who have been arrested for taking part in protests or riots. Whether you approve or disapprove of their actions, they are our responsibility.
That’s why police need to streamline established protocol when processing children under detention. The worrying trend is that protesters are getting younger and younger, and more and more children are being arrested. Meanwhile, police manpower has been stretched thin.
Instead of relying on existing procedures, it’s time to involve child welfare specialists from the get-go when someone arrested is underage. That will not only better protect a child’s welfare and rights, but also the force’s reputation.
However, it seems some professional groups in Hong Kong are mired in deep moral confusion when they accuse police of child abuse or worse.
The grandstanding by Hong Kong Paediatric Foundation is a case in point. It’s all very well that the foundation wants to protect the welfare of children. But let’s not throw politics and ideology into the mix.