Hong Kong welfare minister refuses lawmaker’s call to condemn alleged police violence on social workers
- Law Chi-kwong questions if individual in police beating captured on video during Halloween protests was acting as a social worker at the time
Hong Kong’s welfare minister has refused to condemn alleged police violence against social workers who regularly provide counselling support on the streets during anti-government protests.
Speaking at the Legislative Council panel on welfare services on Friday, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong, addressed the issue in a response to Democratic Party lawmaker and panel chairman Roy Kwong Chun-yu, but stopped short of condemning police.
This came as a group of social workers accused the force of using batons to hit one of their members five times on the head during the city’s Halloween protests on Thursday night, leaving him with a 7cm wound that required five stitches.
But Law cast doubt on whether the person involved in the incident had been acting in a professional capacity at the time.
“The government does not accept all acts of violence,” Law said. “But very often those on the front line may also not be actual users of social workers’ services.”
Law, who was also the head of the University of Hong Kong’s department of social work and social administration, said social workers should urge those seeking their services not to take part in violence at protests.