Hong Kong protests: about 130 firefighters and paramedics to join police as special constables to handle demonstrations

Emergency service personnel to help police deal with anti-government unrest by dismantling barricades and other support tasks

Government insider says police need staffing boost to handle demonstrations, which may stretch until the Legco elections in September

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Last year Hong Kong police were stretched to their limits to tackle more than 1,200 anti-government protests that erupted between June and December. Photo: AP

Published: 9:00am, 29 May 2020Updated: 10:58pm, 29 May 2020

About 130 Hong Kong firefighters and paramedics are to join police as special constables to help the force handle anti-government protests.

Some Government Flying Service crew will also come on board, bringing to nearly 700 the number of special personnel sourced from the five disciplined services.

“Given their expertise and first aid qualifications, the new entrants could, for example, help to immediately put out a fire, remove obstacles and provide medical help at protest sites. This could free up more police resources from ground zero of the demonstrations,” a senior government source said.

“But the force is still mapping out the duties of the new entrants. The commissioner of police will make the appointments as soon as possible.”

He said officers had foreseen a return of the violent protests despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and needed a staffing boost as next month’s first anniversary of the social unrest was approaching.

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