Hong Kong police decline to give details of new scheme which will enable identification of frontline officers during protests

The force says it has introduced new ‘operational call signs’ – white tags affixed to officers’ vests, displaying their units and sections

The issue of the policemen’s lack of identification has become the subject of several court challenges

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Anti-riot police in action during an anti-government protest in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 7:07pm, 30 Oct 2019Updated: 11:10pm, 30 Oct 2019

Hong Kong’s embattled police force on Wednesday said it was not necessary at this stage to provide further details on a new mechanism to identify officers on the protest front line, despite repeated requests from the city’s oldest journalists’ union.

The exchange emerged at a directions hearing in the High Court for the Hong Kong Journalists Association’s upcoming judicial review challenging the force’s alleged failure to facilitate journalistic activities, ensure officers wore visible identification and provide an independent mechanism for investigating complaints.

The application, filed earlier in October, was the fifth case challenging the officers’ lack of identification while policing the anti-government protests that have rocked the city since June.

Journalists shine flashlights at the police during a press conference at the police headquarters in Wan Chai on Monday. Photo: Edmond So

Three others, mounted by teacher Yeung Tsz-chun and retirees Chan Ki-kau and Kwok Cheuk-kin, are set for hearing on March 27 next year, while the fourth case has yet to be scheduled.

Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming said he was inclined to hear all similar applications together as he noted that the present case would add the element of press freedom to the debate.

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