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Riot police and protesters face off in Mong Kok on October 19. Photo: AFP

Video | Backlash after Hong Kong police release video of Occupy protesters’ ‘violent behaviour’

Backlash over video said to show the 'hate and violence' of Occupy protesters as lawmakers accuse security chief of 'political propaganda'

Security chief Lai Tung-kwok yesterday attempted to lift the lid on "hate and violence" by Occupy protesters with a video of clashes with police - but found himself on the receiving end of a backlash amid accusations that he left out inconvenient events.

Lai premiered the video - said to have been gleaned from clips found on the internet - to members of the Legislative Council's security panel. But panel members criticised him for using the meeting as a "tool of political propaganda".

The minister insisted the video was meant only to show lawmakers what had happened.

Before showing the film, Lai spent seven minutes telling lawmakers how "Occupy Central … deviated from its nature of civil disobedience" and failed to live up to its promise to act "with love and peace".

Watch the 2-minute version translated and edited by SCMP:  

"On the night of October 14, protesters ran onto Lung Wo Road, and [marched towards] police officers … how can this be linked with 'love and peace'?" he asked. "When two to three hundred protesters surrounded three policemen and shouted at them, was that peace and non-violence? ... Was it 'love and peace' or 'hate and violence'?"

READ MORE: To view all the latest Occupy Central stories click here

The 11-minute video was made up of clips showing clashes between protesters and police in Admiralty on September 28 and 29 and October 14 to 16, as well as in Mong Kok on October 3 and 17.

In the clips, protesters are seen apparently trying to seize barricades on September 28, while a man in the background shouts instructions such as "Charge! Put on goggles! The back row, proceed!" In other clips, officers are seen grabbing protesters' umbrellas and using pepper spray and batons. In one clip, protesters are heard using foul language and shouting abuse at police in Mong Kok.

The Security Bureau declined the 's request for a copy.

Civic Party lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching asked why the video did not include the use of tear gas by police on September 28, or attacks on pro-democracy protesters by anti-Occupy gangs and suspected triad members.

"Even in your video clip, [Occupy] protesters do not carry any weapons," Mo told Lai.

IT sector lawmaker Charles Mok asked why Lai was trying to turn the panel into a "tool of political propaganda".

But Lai found support from Beijing-loyalists, who said the video proved that the Occupy protests were violent.

Elizabeth Quat, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said the panel members should focus on discussing how to end the protests, rather than assessing the details of what had happened. "We are not God, how can we know the full facts?" Quat asked.

Meanwhile, police arrested a second man in connection with attacks on four journalists from RTHK and TVB who were covering an anti-Occupy rally in Tsim Sha Tsui on Saturday. At least two or three more suspects are being sought.

The man, a 56-year-old taxi driver, was picked up in Chai Wan on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm, criminal damage and common assault, police said.

The suspect remained in custody last night. The other suspect, a 61-year-old man, was released on bail yesterday afternoon. The man, a herbalist, was arrested in Tsuen Wan on Sunday.

Commissioner of Police Andy Tsang Wai-hung. meanwhile, reiterated that the protests had "adversely affected the daily lives and livelihoods of general members of the public and eroded the rule of law".

And he warned: "If anyone resorts to violence, police will take resolute action."

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Missing: inconvenient truths
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