Raymond Siu Chak-yee, the commissioner of police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, gives an exclusive interview to China Daily in Wan Chai on Sept 30, 2022. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Raymond Siu Chak-yee, the commissioner of police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, cautioned that the city still faces certain risks in national security and youth crimes as many local activists have adopted soft measures such as spreading fake news in online platforms to confront the HKSAR government.

He noted that the Police Force has learned lessons from the 2019 social unrest and constantly upgrades tactics to better crack down on the spreading of rumors and to deepen the public’s understanding of police work. 

Siu said that although the National Security Law for Hong Kong has significantly reduced anti-government activities, local activists still adopt soft confrontation approaches, such as using various media platforms to disseminate fake news, reports, and articles that demonize the National Security Law.

Siu added that he communicated with many youngsters, including those who participated in the 2019 social unrest. They were affected markedly by the media or the social media. During the COVID pandemic, they spent at least four or five hours on the media every day and were affected by the circulation of fake news.

The Public Relations Wing will make good use of technology and media to better introduce police work internationally and send officers to various international events to tell the true stories of Hong Kong, the commissioner of police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government Raymond Siu Chak-yee added

To cope with that, the Force tries to clarify malicious accusations within two hours, Siu said. It has also enhanced the transparency of police work to dispel the doubts and allay misunderstandings of the Force.

It upgraded the former Police Public Relations Branch to the Public Relations Wing (PR Wing) on July 15. The Public Relations Wing will make good use of technology and media to better introduce police work internationally and send officers to various international events to tell the true stories of Hong Kong, Siu added.

In light of the growing number of online scams and crimes, the force’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau, which was designated to handle cybersecurity issues and carry out technology crime investigations, will closely monitor social media to identify dubious information and take action.

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The Force also hopes to make good use of various platforms to promote law education and prevent youth crimes. It produced booklets and short video clips about how to prevent youth crime, in the hope that schools in Hong Kong show them to students during the morning recess or at other times to educate the youth to abide by the law, Siu said.

Despite the efforts, he stressed that enhancing youngsters’ awareness of laws is not only the responsibility of the police force. Everyone in the community, including those from other law enforcement agencies, teachers, schools, parents, and media, all play a critical role.

During the interview, the police chief also said that the Force faces a manpower shortage, caused by various reasons such as the retirement wave, a shrinking labor market, and increasing demand for a workforce to provide new infrastructure. Currently the Force has 5,000 vacancies, according to Siu.

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To attract more young people, the Force launched a program called “Police University Recruitment Express (PURE)” from Sept 21 to Oct 26, conducting campus recruitment and setting up booths in 11 local universities.

Students can apply on the spot for the positions of Police Constable, Probationary Inspector, and Auxiliary Police Constable. Serving officers, who are university alumni, were sent to the booths to answer students’ queries on police work.