Beijing stands behind Hong Kong police in state media while local officials insist anti-extradition protests are under control

Hong Kong police received a strong vote of confidence from Beijing on Friday, with state media running interviews with three local officials who insisted the force could handle the protests rocking the city and had so far used only minimal force.

Beijing’s support came as the party chief of neighbouring Guangdong province reportedly told a local delegation that Hong Kong would 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.

Since June, city police officers have taken flak over for their handling of massive, often violent, anti-government protests, sparked by legislation that would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China.

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.”

On Monday, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Beijing’s top bureau on city affairs, praised the local police force. Spokesman Yang Guang told a press conference in the capital: “We would like to salute the Hong Kong police, who have been fearlessly sticking to their posts and fulfilling their duties against all odds.”

Ng welcomed Beijing’s acknowledgement and praise. He said it confirmed that the police were doing the right thing in enforcing the law, while protesters resorting to violence were wrong.

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”.

According to a Friday report in regional party newspaper Nanfang Daily, Li said on Wednesday that Guangdong would join Hong Kong and Macau in spearheading the development of the Greater Bay Area – which is Beijing’s plan to integrate the two former European colonies and nine southern cities into a world-class tech and innovation cluster.

Additional reporting by Matt Ho