Ever since violent protesters launched their war on society last June, the police force has had to bear the brunt. Although they have valiantly sought to protect people, businesses, public facilities and even courts from black-clad mobs, they have paid a heavy price. Officers have been attacked with petrol bombs, savagely assaulted, and even set on fire, but they have not flinched, although many have been hospitalized.
Although the COVID-19 outbreak has seen a lull in violence, the former chief secretary, Anson Chan Fang On-sang, predicts that, once it abates, the strife will resume, and she is probably right. Not even for a second, therefore, can Hong Kong afford to let its guard down. Anything the government does which the protesters dislike could trigger a resumption of violence, and vigilance is therefore key.
All the signs are that those responsible for the violence are simply catching their breath, taking stock, and re-equipping, as much of their weaponry has been seized by police action. The pause, of course, has not stopped them from planting explosive devices in various places, including the Shenzhen Bay Control Point and Lo Wu MTR station, and blowing up public lavatories in Cheung Sha Wan and Jordan. It is, however, also enabling them to recalibrate their strategies, and liaise with their global backers.
Anti-China elements, of course, are here for the long haul, and, as their record shows, they do not mind how much damage they cause, or who they kill and maim. As they try to destroy Hong Kong, all that stands in their way is the police force, which, particularly since the appointment of Chris Tang Ping-keung as commissioner on Nov 19, has enjoyed increasing tactical success against them. This explains why the deeply unpatriotic Civic Party, along with its local collaborators and foreign allies, has done all it possibly can to besmirch their reputation and undermine their morale, even to the extent of blocking their annual pay rise.
As Secretary for Security, John Lee Ka-chiu, clearly realizes, the police force must now be readied to face whatever else Hong Kong’s enemies might have in store. After all, the protest-related violence has gravely stretched police manpower and resources, and they have had to combat unprecedented challenges, without always having the necessary tools. Indeed, over the last year, the force spent 15 percent more than was originally planned on upholding law and order, and this has inevitably taken its toll on effective policing.
The police should seek to acquire equipment which, while expanding their existing options, does not entail a greater use of force than is absolutely necessary for effective riot control
In his budget address, therefore, on Wednesday, Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po, announced that total funding for the force will rise by 25 percent over the previous year, to HK$25.8 billion (US$3.3 billion), which is a welcome show of support. It is anticipated, moreover, that an extra 2,543 posts will be added to the 35,000-strong force in the next financial year, an increase of more than 7 percent, in order to “strengthen operational capability”. About 45 percent of the new officers will help to “maintain law and order in the community”, while over 400 new posts will be created to “prevent and detect crime”.
A new financial crimes bureau, moreover, is also planned, with a mandate to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, areas where Hong Kong’s law enforcement efforts have fallen behind other places.
It is, of course, the front-line officers who are tasked with confronting the mobs, and they must obviously have the latest equipment. Chan’s announcement, therefore, that the force’s budget for specialist supplies and equipment, including weapons, ammunition, shields and protective gear, is to almost treble to HK$612 million, will hopefully provide the force with significant encouragement. Indeed, John Lee, himself a canny former director of crime and security of the Hong Kong Police Force, will likely have discussed with Tang exactly what equipment his officers need, and they will have agreed that, to achieve the force’s objectives, it will have to be state-of-the-art, but non-lethal.
Where possible, therefore, the police should seek to acquire equipment which, while expanding their existing options, does not entail a greater use of force than is absolutely necessary for effective riot control. Tang will be looking at techniques which have been used by police in other places, and which have proved effective. Thus, for example, Tasers and stun guns are devices which, at different ranges, can temporarily immobilize suspects, without causing any serious harm, and are used by law enforcement agencies in Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. Again, net guns, which release material to entangle suspects in a way that does not endanger life, are also used by the police in places like Japan, Taiwan and the US, and can be of great utility.
The police, moreover, hope to spend about HK$77 million on replacing six armored vehicles, and, once achieved, this will also strengthen their operational capability.
Although the government’s decision to modernize the force and equip it to protect Hong Kong is absolutely vital, some lawmakers, who have previously whitewashed the protest movement and its excesses, are up in arms. Whereas HK First’s Claudia Mo Man-ching fumed that she was “disgusted” by the decision, the Democratic Party’s Wu Chi-wai spluttered that the government was ignoring concerns over “the brutality of the police force”. Not to be outdone, the Civic Party’s Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu fatuously called for police funding to be slashed, and threatened to vote down the whole budget.
Quite clearly, Mo, Wu and Yeung are not only being mischievous, but actively malevolent, presumably thinking that there are votes to be had in trotting out such nonsense. Indeed, anyone listening to the rantings of this malicious trio could be forgiven for recalling the words of Shakespeare’s King Lear, that “wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile”. When, moreover, politicians of such low quality are elected to the Legislative Council, it is hardly surprising if many people find themselves losing faith in the future of democratic development.
Once the budget is approved, the police force will hopefully be able to fully discharge its obligations to society. It should, that is, be able to contain subversive activity, to protect lives, and to safeguard our streets, as well as to clamp down on global money laundering and terrorist finance. To weaken the force, or leave it underfunded, is simply not an option, and the black-clad mobs will destroy Hong Kong if it is not properly defended.
What Mo, Wu, Yeung and their ilk must clearly understand, therefore, is that mob rule, street violence and targeted hatred toward people from elsewhere, or with different views, are alien to everything Hong Kong stands for, and can provide no sort of future. The government must be commended for getting its priorities right, and for giving the police the support they so richly deserve at a critical time.
The author is a senior counsel, law professor and criminal justice analyst, and was previously the director of public prosecutions of the HKSAR government.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
