World’s best police force smeared overnight as rogue cops?

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Hong Kong protests: senior police officer Alan Lau calls on colleagues to rise above ‘rogue cop’ framing to restore order, help defeat hatred

Force smeared in ‘biggest conspiracy in the world’ that fans flames of hate against city officers, says Lau
Veteran officer who led police operations during Occupy Central says law and force alone cannot restore order

Peace Chiu 

Riot police preparing for action in Tung Chung earlier this month with the city in the grip of anti-government protests. Photo: Felix Wong 

A top police officer who came out of retirement to tackle Hong Kong’s escalating protests has appealed to colleagues to help defeat hatred in the city, despite being “smeared as rogue cops” in what he called a conspiracy against the force.

Alan Lau Yip-shing also said “Hong Kong’s most serious and lawless unrest” could not be resolved by law and force alone in his first internal letter since he was officially appointed by the government as deputy commissioner of police on special duties last month.

His plea came as anti-government protests in Hong Kong continued into their fourth month, with some demonstrators resorting to violence including throwing petrol bombs at officers and setting barricades on fire, and police responding with tear gas and firing rounds of rubber bullets.

Alan Lau has issued a call to officers to persevere with restoring order to Hong Kong’s streets despite suffering repeated smear attacks. Photo: Edward Wong

Penning the letter on September 19, the deputy commissioner said the past six weeks had been “the hardest and most worrying of my life, but also the most glorious”.

He said he was honoured to work together with his 30,000 colleagues, who he added performed their duties faithfully in the face of danger.

Lau said it was frustrating to see how some people from a wide cross-section of public life had done everything to undermine the government’s credibility, spreading shocking and wrongful political ideology.

He also accused some figures across political, religious, media, education and social work sectors of provoking young people into joining violent protests, and had distorted the truth to fan hatred against the police in the name of press freedom.

“At the beginning of the year, we were still recognised as the world’s best police force … but overnight, the same Hong Kong police force was smeared as rogue cops,” the letter read.

“This is the biggest conspiracy and lie in the world, we have been framed.”

Riot police on Hong Kong’s streets has become a regular fixture, but a senior officer believes they are the victims of a smear campaign. Photo: EPA-EFE

The police service satisfaction survey and the public opinion survey in 2018 conducted by the force showed that 84 per cent of respondents were either very satisfied or quite satisfied with the force.

He said the “roots of turmoil and hatred” had to be weeded out to deal with violence and restore Hong Kong to its harmonious and happy state.

He called on his colleagues to work together with the other sectors to achieve this goal.

“This goal cannot be achieved by law or force alone,” he said. “To solve the problem completely, we must work together with all walks of life in Hong Kong to deal with it with great wisdom.”

Quoting ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, Lau said: “When a reconciliation is effected after a great animosity, there is sure to be a grudge remaining. How can this be beneficial?”

He said he did not go as far as to hope that all Hongkongers would agree with their determination to enforce the law, but firmly believed the vast majority of residents supported the goal to end violence and chaos.

Lau oversaw operations during the 2014 Occupy protests and the 2016 Mong Kok riot.

Well known for his tough style of leadership, he was also in charge of security when President Xi Jinping visited the city in 2017.