CE blasts US official for slandering HK police
Updated: 2019-10-16 08:11
By Gu Mengyan in Hong Kong(HK Edition)
Carrie Lam expresses regret over some US senators for judging the situation in a superficial and biased manner
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday strongly refuted comments by visiting United States senator Josh Hawley that Hong Kong is becoming a police state.
Lam dismissed the accusations as “totally irresponsible and unfounded,” and reiterated the SAR government’s support for the “highly professional and civilized” police force.
Hitting back at foreign politicians who have made unfair comments about the situation in Hong Kong, she asked what the police in their countries would do if violent protesters committed arson, threw gasoline bombs and attacked police officers with deadly weapons.
Lam also expressed regret over some US senators having preconceived views about the situation in Hong Kong when visiting the city, thus preventing them from seeing for themselves objectively what’s really happening in the SAR.
Hawley, who was present during the rampage by radical protesters in Mong Kok on Sunday, said he did not see any violence first hand other than the tense situation. During Sunday’s rampage, rioters tossed dozens of gasoline bombs at Mong Kok Police Station.
The US senator said he would advocate at Congress the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 – a bill proposed to subject Hong Kong’s autonomy to an annual assessment with a threat to revoke the city’s separate status in trade and finance if the US finds the situation unsatisfactory.
Backlash against Act
Approval of the bill by US congressional committees has drawn strong opposition from the Chinese side as the bill is seen as a “gross interference in China’s internal affairs”.
The bill could be put to a vote by the House of Representatives as early as this week.
Lam Chi-wai, president of the Junior Police Officers’ Association of Hong Kong Police Force, on Monday urged the SAR government to take strong measures to cooperate with the police in stopping the violence and restoring social order as soon as possible.
In a letter to all association members, he said policymakers should face up to reality, reflect on past issues and recognize the need to break the current political impasse.
Lam noted there has been little public support for the police in the past few months although the police have been acting justly to protect peace and order in society.
jefferygu@chinadailyhk.com
(HK Edition 10/16/2019 page4)