Beijing stands behind Hong Kong police in state media while local officials insist anti-extradition protests are under control
- Xinhua interviews three Hong Kong police officials who say only minimal force had been used against protesters
- Guangdong party tells local delegation that Hong Kong will not be left behind under “Greater Bay Area” economic plan
Commentators said the reports showed the central government’s continuing support for Hong Kong as it works to restore social stability and address economic uncertainties.
On Friday, state news agency Xinhua ran interviews with Ronny Chan Man-tak, chairman of the 400-member Superintendents’ Association; Wilkie Ng Wai-kei, chairman of the 2,000-strong Police Inspectors’ Association; and Lam Chi-wai, president of the Junior Police Officers’ Association, which represents 25,000 of the city’s 30,000 officers.
Lam told Xinhua that local officers had used less force than their counterparts abroad would have done in similar situations.
“The Hong Kong police only used minimal force. Every rational person in the world would understand the professional level of the Hong Kong police,” he said.
Chan noted the impact on officers’ personal lives, saying officers would generally spend the summer on holiday with their families, but were working overtime instead.
“But of course, these hardships and difficulties can’t defeat us,” he said. “It only makes our will stronger.”
Lam said the force had enough equipment and was capable of handling any violent incidents. Officers were 100 per cent confident of maintaining law and order and protecting the city’s residents, he added.
Professor Lau Siu-kai, vice-chairman of The Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a semi-official think-thank, said the reports in state-run media were meant “to show that Beijing values Hong Kong police”.
Li Xi, the Communist Party secretary of Guangdong, assured a Hong Kong business delegation that the southern province would continue to support the city “to the utmost”.
Additional reporting by Matt Ho