New chief, new tactics: Hong Kong police act more swiftly to round up masked radicals when protests turn ugly
- Police discard previous slow responses, switch to battle mode against violent protests
- Quicker action has resulted in police using less tear gas and other crowd-dispersal weapons
Security consultant Clement Lai Ka-chi was surprised, and impressed, by what he saw on New Year’s Day.
Two hours later, after masked radicals vandalised more than five HSBC branches along the route and blocked roads in Wan Chai, officers swung into action on Hennessy Road.
They charged at the protesters from two sides, surprising them. More than 460 people were rounded up near the Sogo department store and made to squat with their hands raised or stand, facing the wall.
Such swift police action had not been seen in more than seven months of protests in Hong Kong.
“It was spectacular,” said Lai, a former police superintendent who helped set up the force’s Counter Terrorism Response Unit in 2009. “The force is now taking a more proactive and determined approach to curb violence, instead of being passive, reserved and defensive.”