Chinese state media calls for ‘forceful’ police action to end Hong Kong unrest
- People’s Daily publishes strong commentary hours before first announcement from Beijing on city crisis
- It followed weekend of violent protests which saw police using tear gas and rubber bullets
Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily has called on the Hong Kong police to take immediate and forceful action to end the unrest and restore law and order in the city, in a strongly worded commentary published on Monday.
“At a time like this, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the police should not hesitate or have any unnecessary ‘psychological worries’ about taking all necessary steps [to restore order],” the commentary said.
“The SAR government and police should not forget that their strongest backing comes from the sacred missions bestowed on them by the Basic Law and the law of Hong Kong, and hence the SAR government and the police must act now in accordance with the laws, and punish all those perpetrators of violence as prescribed by the law.
“We cannot condone the lawbreakers just because they are holding up high the banner of ‘freedom and democracy’ or wearing the hat of ‘civil disobedience’.”
The commentary followed a weekend of violent protests in Yuen Long and Hong Kong’s Central district which saw the city’s police using tear gas and rubber bullets outside the central government’s liaison office in one of the bloodiest clashes with anti-government protesters since June.