Hong Kong protests: police chief Chris Tang admits handling of journalists covering Mother’s Day demonstrations was unsatisfactory
- Commissioner says officers ‘should have been more professional’ in handling Sunday protest, vowing to review their practices in a meeting with journalists
- But he says they face increasing obstruction from self-proclaimed media workers donning press vests
Hong Kong’s police chief has admitted that his officers’ treatment of journalists covering anti-government protests on Mother’s Day was “unsatisfactory”, but said they faced increasing obstruction from self-proclaimed media workers in press vests.
Commissioner of Police Chris Tang Ping-keung vowed to meet media representatives next week to discuss ways to ease tensions between the press and the force, including the feasibility of an accreditation system for reporters.
His concession came a day after several major media associations, alongside a Chinese-language broadsheet, accused police of abusing and insulting reporters covering unrest in various locations on Sunday evening.
Tang was attending a meeting of Yuen Long District Council, which is now controlled by the opposition bloc.
Democratic Party councillor Roy Kwong Chun-yu, who was among some 230 people arrested on Sunday, said: “The way your officers treated media workers was akin to launching a terrorist attack on them. They were pepper-sprayed and ordered to kneel down. Is anyone being held accountable for that?”