‘Police apologise?’ No, Hong Kong rioters should say sorry for chaos they brought to the city, force chief Chris Tang says
- Tang made remarks during two-hour grilling by Central and Western District Council members
- He rejected calls to apologise for alleged police violence and blamed fake news for tarnishing force’s reputation
Hong Kong’s police chief rejected calls on Thursday for the force to apologise for their alleged violence during the ongoing social unrest, declaring that it is the “rioters” who need to say sorry for the harm they have caused the city.
Even as he refused to back down, Commissioner of Police Chris Tang Ping-keung conceded the force could have handled the social unrest better during a two-hour grilling by predominantly pro-democracy Central and Western District Council members at a meeting to discuss the force’s conduct over the past months since the anti-government protests began last June.
So far, 7,019 people have been arrested during the movement sparked by an aborted extradition bill, with 1,092 prosecutions brought to the courts, including 547 cases of rioting.
Asked whether the police had made mistakes in handling the protesters, Tang said: “Of course there is room for improvement … including in terms of our actions and strategies, communication with the media, our gear and my colleagues’ attitudes when talking to citizens.”
During the rowdy session in which police supporters exchanged angry words with the councillors, the elected officials displayed photos and videos of protesters’ bloodied faces. Venting their anger, they accused Tang of blindly protecting his men as no officers had been punished despite demonstrators’ claims they were assaulted during dispersal actions.