Beijing must have role if Hong Kong sets up inquiry into police handling of protests, says writer Ren Yi
- Weibo article by influential mainland commentator says police were left to handle situation that Hong Kong government could not solve
- Ren says any inquiry must also look at possibility of foreign interference in protest movement
If such a commission were set up, it should be led by Beijing and must also look at the possibility of foreign interference in the protest movement that emerged from public opposition to a now abandoned extradition bill, said Ren, who writes under the pseudonym of Chairman Rabbit.
“From the perspective of the police force, it’s the Hong Kong government’s inability to resolve a political crisis that has pushed them to the front line and forced them to clash with the protesters,” said Ren, a graduate of Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government.
A commission that only looked at police conduct would be insufficient, unfair and inherently biased, he said. Such a body should only be set up if protesters gave up violence. Otherwise, the movement’s radical element would be encouraged to try to undermine the government further.
Ren’s article – in response to a South China Morning Post report that the government may set up a commission of inquiry (COI) if the public was unhappy with the findings of a police watchdog – went viral on the mainland and was shared by many members of the mainland elite, including policymakers. It also reappeared on Ren’s WeChat account and had been read more than 620,000 times by Tuesday.