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Hong Kong protests
Hong Kong

Hong Kong protests: gentler approach to resolving stand-offs ‘worth considering’, says police officer whose efforts to persuade youths to go home went viral online

  • Chief Inspector Sean Lin had gently tried to persuade youngsters besieging Ma On Shan Police station to leave
  • Video capturing incident gained more than 415,000 views in less than a week and also went viral on Chinese social media site Weibo

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Sean Lin says his talk to the protesters outside Ma On Shan Police Station was unscripted. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Zoe Low

A softer approach to resolving stand-offs with protesters is “worth considering”, according to a Hong Kong police officer who was seen in a viral video gently trying to persuade youngsters besieging his station to leave.

The video, released by the police force on its Facebook page last Saturday, gained more than 415,000 views in less than a week and also went viral on Chinese social media site Weibo.
The clip, titled “affectionate dialogue in laser”, showed Chief Inspector Sean Lin softly addressing the gathered crowd from Ma On Shan Police Station’s rooftop through a loudspeaker on August 5, in sharp contrast to the tear gas and rubber bullets used during other dispersal operations throughout the past two months of protests against the now-abandoned extradition bill.

“Personally, I hope the situation in the future can be gentler from every side of the house, so there can be more opportunities to use communication methods [such as] advice and warnings, without intense physical contact,” Lin said in a small group interview arranged by the force’s public relations branch on Wednesday, which was also attended by mainland Chinese media including state news agency Xinhua.

Lin, 47, said he had been a member of the police negotiation cadre for 18 years. The 23-year police veteran added that the decision to use a gentler approach was jointly made between the Sha Tin and several other district commanders, after assessing the situation and finding most of those gathered there were youths.

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