Exclusive | New Hong Kong police chief Chris Tang tells residents: the force cannot end the protests alone
- Tang worries people only point fingers at police, turn blind eye to mob violence
- Rejecting charges of brutality, new chief says worsening violence is ‘close to terrorism’
Hong Kong’s incoming police chief says the 31,000-strong force cannot end the city’s unprecedented social unrest on its own, and needs the support of Hongkongers.
In an exclusive interview with the Post ahead of being sworn in on Tuesday, Chris Tang Ping-keung said the crisis, now in its sixth month, was much more than a law-and-order issue.
Taking over at a time when police are under unrelenting criticism for alleged excessive use of force, he wished Hongkongers would condemn the violence, saying their silence and tolerance only encouraged the masked radicals wreaking havoc.
He also found it worrying that people only pointed fingers at police, but turned a blind eye to violence.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “Whatever your beliefs, do not glorify and put up with the violence. Do not let the mob further motivate themselves and become more radicalised.
“If everyone had come out earlier to condemn the violence, society would not have turned into this state in five months. We can only end the unrest with society’s condemnation, reflection by the rioters, plus our appropriate tactics.”
