Hong Kong police chief: I don’t mind people making fun of me, but satirical show Headliner is hurting public’s faith in force
- Commissioner of Police Chris Tang doubles down on stance in row with public broadcaster RTHK
- Tang says he likes show when challenged by caller who accuses him of lacking a sense of humour
Hong Kong’s police chief has been accused of having double standards over his row with the city’s public broadcaster, RTHK, and its satirical current affairs programme Headliner.
Appearing on a radio programme on Saturday, Chris Tang Ping-keung said while he liked the television show, it had caused the public to lose trust in police by delivering misleading messages.
The force escalated its disagreement with RTHK on Tuesday when it took its complaint to the Communications Authority, and said the programme had “undermined police work” and would result in an “erosion of law and order”.
But a resident who called Saturday’s radio phone-in show took Tang to task for his stance towards Headliner, and suggested it was police behaviour during last year’s anti-government protests that had damaged public belief in the force.
“Why do you think it is [OK to have a] sense of humour for your private conversation, but you cannot tolerate the humour of Headliner?” she asked.
“Is it because they have pointed out the wrongdoing of the police force? I believe residents score the police force zero for their performance over the past year.”
The caller went on to accuse police of using excessive force during the months of civil unrest, and making arbitrary arrests, and asked why not a single officer had been arrested.
Police not the ones who should apologise for chaos, says Tang
In response to the petrol bombs, bricks and other weapons used by protesters, police have fired more than 16,000 rounds of tear gas, and 10,000 rubber bullets, while two people have been shot with live rounds.
Overall, some 2,000 people were injured in the clashes, including 550 police officers.
In response to the caller, Tang said he was a fan of the show, but argued that it created a misleading impression of the force, which it should not do.
“I like having a sense of humour. I also like watching the Headliner. The show yesterday [Friday] was funny and I don’t mind if they imitate me,” Tang said. “But they cannot deliver false and misleading information and cause the public to lose trust in us.”
Tang argued that residents, including the caller, may have the wrong impression that the force had not worked hard on investigating scores of suicide cases after watching the show. In a sketch last Friday, a “policeman” read out a list of suicide cases and declared there was “nothing suspicious” about any of them.
“That greatly affects our work in crime prevention and is not in the public interest,” Tang said.
During the phone-in, Tang said the force was investigating allegations of misconduct against officers, and revealed 21 had been reprimanded.
Among those was an officer who drove his motorcycle into a group of protesters last November, as well as two involving incidents where journalists’ identity cards were held in front of a camera during live broadcasts.
“Reprimands do not mean the cases are over. We will continue the investigation for the received complaints via the Complaints Against Police Office,” he said, adding that the force issued reprimands as an immediate way to suppress such misconduct and to show other officers the behaviour would not be tolerated.
In the coming year, the police force plans to increase its manpower by more than 7 per cent, with an extra 2,500 posts created to cope with operational needs.
Tang admitted recruitment could be a challenge, but pointed out that those who wished to join the auxiliary force had increased by 70 per cent, and said that showed many people were still passionate to join the force.
