Hong Kong police’s highest-ranked woman ever, Winnie Chiu, on a career spanning riots, repatriations and Occupy
- Winnie Chiu will become the government watchdog from April, hoping to ‘contribute even more’
After a career taking in everything from repatriating Vietnamese migrants to dealing with the Occupy movement, the highest-ranked woman in Hong Kong police’s 175-year history said on Friday she retired with no regrets, and hoped to extend her sense of justice to the Office of the Ombudsman, which she will helm from next month.
Speaking on her last day on the force, Winnie Chiu Wai-yin, the city’s first female deputy police commissioner, said she had mixed feelings, and would miss her colleagues a lot.
But after almost 36 years, the 56-year-old said she was ready for her next challenge. She pledged to be an impartial ombudsman, the government watchdog, which she described as a “very meaningful role”.
“I think my character and values are in line with what an ombudsman should have. I have always had a very strong sense of justice throughout my life. I think through the role of ombudsman I will be able to contribute even more,” said Chiu, who will head the office from April 1, for a term of five years.
Pan-democratic lawmaker James To Kun-sun said last Friday that while he believed Chiu was a capable and outstanding policewoman, he had reservations about her appointment because she was “one of the most bureaucratic police officers” he had ever known and that the ombudsman’s job was to improve government bureaucracy.
In response, Chiu said she would listen to different views and do her best.
Chiu’s sudden departure will come about five months ahead of her hitting the official retirement age of 57. She will succeed Connie Lau Yin-hing, whose contract ends on March 31.
My training and experience can be applied to the new job, like in investigation, management and communication. Most important is to be fearless and selfless
Chiu said she had never thought about a second career until she was headhunted for the new post. She said she discussed the prospect with the commissioner, her husband and her 15-year-old son, who all supported the move.
City leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made the appointment last week after rounds of selection.
“I grew up with the force,” Chiu continued. “My training and experience can be applied to the new job, like in investigation, management and communication. Most important is to be fearless and selfless.”
The primary duty of the Ombudsman is to investigate any alleged maladministration of more than 80 government departments and public authorities, excluding the police. But the watchdog does have the power to look into complaints against the force for non-compliance with the Code on Access to Information.
Chiu made headlines after she was named the force’s first female deputy chief in July 2017.
Having joined the force in 1983, she was once the deputy commander of Tango Coy, the first female police tactical unit platoon, which was formed in 1992 to deal with the forced repatriation of Vietnamese migrants.
And her career has taken in some trying times for the city’s police, from the spate of violent robberies that marred the 1990s to 2014’s pro-democracy Occupy protests, the force’s handling of which became a fraught topic of disagreement between opposing sides.
She took the lead on security for the ceremony marking the city’s return from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
Looking back at her service in the force, Chiu said: “No regrets. I am so thankful for the chance to take up exciting jobs in these 36 years. My entire service in the force has been exhilarating.”
