Chinese state media urges quicker trials and heavy sentences for Hong Kong protesters
- People’s Daily says the city’s judiciary has been too lenient in dealing with those arrested during months of unrest
- Xinhua slams school of 18-year-old shot in chest by Hong Kong police for failing to denounce him, after school said it shared young people’s concerns
It was the latest claim by state media that the city’s legal system – which is independent and different from that on the mainland – has been too lenient during the ongoing unrest.
An online commentary published by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily said: “Most of the approximately 2,000 arrested by police in the past four months are still free on bail … if those prosecuted had already been punished by the law, would there be that many young students incited?
“When will Hong Kong’s judiciary answer the public’s call to join the [Hong Kong] government in stopping Hong Kong from falling off the cliff?”
A Hong Kong policeman, who became famous in July after he was pictured pointing a shotgun at protesters in July also expressed his dissatisfaction on the microblog Weibo.