Hong Kong leader defends police after fresh accusations of violence
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam has said the city’s police force – which has been accused of beating activists and using excessive force during demonstrations – is under extreme pressure, and said it would be a “long road” to heal rifts in the territory.
Lam told reporters it was “quite remarkable” that there had not been any fatalities during the three months of protests that have wracked the financial hub.
Read more: Ofcom launches probe into Chinese state broadcaster over Hong Kong coverage
She added that while she supported the police to safeguard the rule of law, “that doesn’t mean that I would condone irregularities or wrong practices done by the police force”.
“I know the level of mutual trust is now relatively low in Hong Kong, but we have to make sure that we can continue to operate as a civil society,” she told reporters.
Lam said she hoped a dialogue session with members of the public later this week would help bridge the divide, but said: “it will be a long journey to achieve reconciliation in society.”
Hong Kong was plunged into its worst political crisis in decades in June, when protests began over a proposed bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China. Lam withdrew the bill earlier this month, but demonstrations have evolved into wider pro-democracy protests.
Footage emerged that appeared to show police officers beating a man during a protest on Saturday, but acting senior superintendent Vasco Williams said the video appeared to show an “officer kicking a yellow object”, rather than a man.
Speaking to reporters, Vasco said the incident needed to be investigated, but ruled out police “malpractice” and said the footage could have been “doctored”.
In response to Vasco’s comments, a member of pro-democracy organisation Demosisto posted what appeared to be new footage of the alleged incident on Twitter, saying it showed that police had “assaulted and kicked” the man in question.
Amnesty International has called on the Hong Kong government to investigate the use of force against demonstrators by police and encourage Beijing to safeguard protestors’ right to peaceful assembly.
“Authorities need to show they are willing to protect human rights in Hong Kong, even if this means pushing back against Beijing’s ‘red line’,” said Joshua Rosenzweig, head of Amnesty’s East Asia office, in a report.
Read more: Stock exchanges at loggerheads: HKEX and LSE refuse to budge over £32bn takeover offer
President Xi Jinping warned in 2017 that any attempt to undermine Chinese sovereignty in Hong Kong was a “red line” that would not be tolerated.
The former British colony, which was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, is governed under the “one country, two systems” framework.
The system is designed to afford the city some autonomy from Beijing, but protestors argue these freedoms have been steadily eroded by Beijing.
Main image credit: Getty