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Hong Kong's police say they were stretched and
struggling.
Months into a city-wide rebellion calling for
democratic reform, activists had changed tack,
hitting many targets at once. They couldn't keep
up.
But they have now reorganised operations and say
they are on top of the situation, making it
unlikely mainland troops will be seen on the
city's streets.
This information came from a nearly three-hour
briefing this week, given by senior police
officers to international journalists, including
the BBC.
They gave an unusually frank assessment on their
capabilities and the likelihood of an
intervention from Beijing. They say it won't
happen and this is why.
Could China take over?
If, at some point, this city's evolving crisis
deteriorates to a level beyond the reach of the
local authorities, this could mean mainland riot
troops coming across from the border city of
Shenzhen.
Images of the People's Armed Police arriving in
convoys have been published by Chinese state
media, accompanied by threats of intervention.
If this happened, "we'd be in completely new
territory", a senior Hong Kong police officer
said and his colleagues nodded in agreement.
He said there was no capacity for
interoperability between mainland forces and
Hong Kong police. There are no protocols, no
plans. They have never even had joint training.
This would seem to suggest that if troop trucks
start driving into Hong Kong, it means the
Chinese government are taking control of the
operation.
A senior officer we spoke to was adamant that
"it won't happen". Hong Kong police "can handle"
the current crisis, he said.
He added that speculation on social media that
mainland Chinese police were already within
their ranks - spurred partly by some officers
not showing their identification numbers and
rumours of Mandarin Chinese being spoken - was
totally false.
China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming,
warned on Thursday that Beijing could "quell any
unrest swiftly", and accused unidentified
"foreign forces" of inciting the protests.
However, on this point, they were also frank.
When we asked if police had seen any evidence to
back up the allegations that foreign governments
had either funded or organised the
anti-government protests, the answer was
straight to the point: "No."
Undercover police officers
Hong Kong police admit that, at one point, they
were stretched too thin to respond to the number
of moving protests, with hardline activists
adopting a "hit-and-run" strategy. They would
hurl bricks at a police station or block a
cross-city tunnel and then, when the riot teams
arrived, they would run.
During a widespread strike on 5 August, there
were clashes in a dozen sites across the
territory.
Police say they can now send out teams much more
quickly - that they are more mobile, and have
taken advantage of protesters breaking into
smaller groups by moving in fast to make
arrests.
The authorities can call on some 3,000 trained
riot police, who normally have other roles
within the 30,000-strong police force.
They also feel more confident because they have
apprehended what they call significant figures
among the most radical protesters.
While this movement has been described as
leaderless, relying on consensus-building within
chat groups, police feel that key people have
been able to sway support for certain types of
actions.
They say they've been able to find and grab
these "main players" with the help of
intelligence gathered by undercover officers
placed within the ranks of the protesters. They
sometimes call these "decoy operations".
'If they killed somebody, they would face murder
charges'
The use of undercover police has led to concern
and even paranoia among groups of protesters.
On Tuesday, activists attacked two men -
including a Chinese state media journalist - at
Hong Kong's airport, accusing them of being
mainland officers.
On all sides, people are becoming much more
cautious who they trust, including journalists.
Both the police and protesters often want to see
some ID before talking to you.
Police have also come under fire for what - at
times - is seen as a heavy-handed approach,
including the use of tear gas in residential
areas and underground train stations.
Then there are images that seem to show riot
teams firing rubber bullets and tear gas
horizontally - at head-shot range - straight
into crowds of activists.
Police said this should not be happening. "Baton
round" rubber bullets are to be fired at the
ground and the idea is that they then ricochet
into people.
This could be what happened to me on 5 of August
when a projectile - police say most likely a
rubber bullet - hit me straight in the face,
smashing my tear gas mask.
One of the officers told me he did not think I
would have been deliberately shot in the head.
"At least I hope not," he said.
He added that it was more likely a round bounced
up at me from below and that it was just
unfortunate to strike me where it did. Who
knows?
Another officer told me that police would be
crazy to fire at somebody's head with any type
of round. "If they killed somebody, they would
face a murder charge," he said.
The Special Tactical Contingent - a riot team
known as the "Raptors" - were filmed last
weekend chasing protesters into an underground
train station and, at the top of an escalator,
firing non-lethal rounds at activists from
point-blank range, then laying into them with
batons.
The police are making no apologies for this
response given, they say, the violent attacks
against their own officers who have had bricks
and metal bars thrown at them.
Then there is the use of tear gas which is
beyond its use-by date. We asked if reports were
true that this could be harmful.
These officers told us manufacturers have
assured them it is completely safe - however, to
be sure, they would be recalling any expired
canisters.
Given how much tear gas they are firing, does
this mean they could run out?
"No."
Fears of retribution
There is also a really crucial question
regarding their long-term future: how can they
start to rebuild public trust?
The officers we met shook their heads and
shrugged. "It's going to take a long time to be
honest," one said.
Probably the worst public-relations disaster for
the police came on 21 July, when they were
nowhere to be seen as triad-connected gangs of
men, dressed in white, waited for protesters at
Yuen Long train station and proceeded to assault
them with home-made weapons. Passers-by were
also caught up in the attacks.
Although police have now made dozens of arrests
among the "white shirts", many in the general
public and especially among the pro-democracy
camp, are calling for an independent inquiry
into recent events, including alleged links
between some officers and underworld gangs.
Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam has rejected the
need for such an inquiry, saying that the
Independent Police Complaints Council is already
looking at the matter.
The officers we spoke to also said there was no
need for a dedicated independent inquiry.
Even when we asked them whether this might be a
way to win back public trust, they said they
couldn't see the value in it.
In the meantime, police on the ground are coming
under enormous personal pressure.
After a full day of street battles with
protesters, they have routinely been surrounded
in the street by ordinary citizens in their
hundreds hurling abuse at them.
"The sound has been deafening," said one of the
officers we spoke to.
There is also cyber-bullying. At least 300
officers have had their personal information
placed online; photos of their children have
been published and groups go to the workplaces
of their wives or husbands, just to let them
know they are aware of who they are.
We were told about one teenage daughter of an
officer who was harassed by an adult while she
was playing sport. They said to her: "What your
father is doing is disgusting."
Activists have cut electricity to police homes
and sent fake food deliveries to them in the
early hours of the morning.
The fear of being identified for retribution is
so high, we were told, that when police go to
hospital for treatment, some of them describe
their occupation as "public servant" rather than
"police officer".
They fear hospital records could be leaked or
even that they could be harassed in hospital.
'We can't get involved in politics'
Only a political solution can ultimately ease
Hong Kong's crisis.
Those who can bring this about are not on the
front lines. This is the realm of police and
activists.
Would these officers like to see some sort of
action from the city's leaders, especially Chief
Executive Carrie Lam, to take the heat off the
police?
They smile. It looks like they really would like
to say more - but instead, after a brief pause,
we are told: "We can't get involved in
politics".
The say they want protesters to return to
demonstrating peacefully - "the Hong Kong way".
But tens of thousands of activists here now
believe that peaceful protest has been ignored
by those in power and that escalation is the
only option to somehow bring about democratic
reform.
The police know this is not going to end soon.
There has been an increased number of
resignations from the force as a result of this
crisis, we were told.
But the biggest impact, they say, has been for
officers to pull together and support one
another.
Is there any possibility that the protest
movement has created divisions within the force?
Not a chance, they say. Exactly the opposite. |
