Frustration of youth a factor in Mong Kok riot, says former Hong Kong police chief
But Tang King-shing rules out any People’s Liberation Army intervention in city over unrest
A former Hong Kong police chief says the Mong Kok riot last month was not surprising, given “unchecked frustration” among young people over economic and political problems.
But he dismissed the idea of People’s Liberation Army soldiers helping maintain law and order.
In an exclusive interview with the Post, Tang King-shing, police commissioner from 2007 to 2011, discussed the riot for the first time in public before heading to Beijing as a local delegate to China’s top political advisory body, which begins its annual session today.
On Wednesday, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference spokesman Wang Guoqing reiterated Beijing’s commitment to the “one country, two systems” policy as he criticised the recent riot that left at least 125 people injured – 90 of them frontline police officers.
“Our society has progressed in general and people harbour higher expectations in the quality of life and in the government,” Tang, 61, said.
“Unfortunately, incessant political debate and economic hardship during the course of it have frustrated especially the youths. This development, if unchecked, widens the area of confrontation and results in conflict.”