Will the siege of Polytechnic University be seen as marking a turning point in Hong Kong’s crisis? Is the worst over? The siege saw more effective police tactics, surrounding the protesters and mass arrests: over 1000 including minors released after details were taken. In the last two days social media rallying for more demonstrations has resulted in just a few hundred showing up, acting peacefully. And a new police commissioner regarded as a hardliner has taken office this week vowing new strategies and tougher tactics.
Can residents hope that the city is returning to normality and peace? A BUZZ team member talked to a restaurant chain owner yesterday who said he was near to quitting, shutting his stores and moving to the green fields of England. His desperation is repeated hundreds of thousands of times across Hong Kong. Retail businesses are shuttered, many gone forever. Festival Walk, one of our finest shopping malls, is closed while the vandalism is repaired. Staff have lost their jobs. Those who remain forced to take unpaid leave. Directors of many retail businesses fear for their companies very survival. The protesters, mostly youngsters, know not what they have wrought; the ripples set off by their violence disrupting most of the economy: airlines, hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, great cultural and sporting events such as Clockenflap and the Oxfam Trailwalker. Wrecked.
But the near-winter skies are brilliant blue, kids are kicking balls around playgrounds, restaurants in peaceful parts of the city such as Sai Kung are bustling, and yes, the darkest days may be over.
Meanwhile, the man at the top of the police force has been changed. New Commissioner Chris Tang Ping-keung is regarded both as a “hard-liner” and “a safe pair of hands”. Appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of Carrie Lam, Commissioner Tang has been widely educated at Beijing academies, headed the anti-violent offenders taskforce TIDERIDER and said he would adopt four strategies in tackling the current crisis.
While head of TIDERIDER, the former police operations chief authorised the carrying of extendable batons by off-duty officers. On taking office the new commissioner described the violence of protesters as “very close to terrorism”. He said they were bringing “mob rule” to Hong Kong.
In an interview with Eastweek, Tang said he will adopt four strategies in countering the city’s crisis. “There is no political training for the force.” This is inaccurate, perhaps out of context. Tang himself has attended the mainland’s Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, Chinese People’s Public Security University and the Executive Leadership Academy. A superintendent now retired has told BUZZ all senior officers are sent for courses in China.
Tang mentioned the new regional response contingents. They were established following a review of force actions during Occupy Central and the Mongkok riot. The review concluded Police Tactical Unit operations were not flexible enough. Six regional response contingents with thousands of officers in each have been set up each commanded by a chief superintendent. This structure enables better communication with regional commanders.
The police will also introduce more non-lethal weapons, Tang said, so they will be at a greater distance from violent protesters. The fourth element of the new commissioner’s strategy was uniting citizens. “The biggest problem is some people sympathise with the rioters and even shelter them, making it difficult to restore order.”
One of the 54-year-old commissioner’s first actions was to order replacement of the force’s motto, “We Service with Pride and Care” to “Serving Hong Kong with Honour, Duty and Loyalty”.
A BUZZ contact, a retired superintendent who knows Tang personally, described him as “a safe pair of hands, reliable, trustworthy and a balanced individual. Tang is a hard worker who will not drop the ball. He’s balanced and smart.”
Armed with a degree in social studies from the Chinese University, Tang joined the RHKPF in 1987 as an inspector. As commissioner he succeeds Stephen Lo, who has taken pre-retirement leave after 35 years of service. Tang has also studied at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London and he has been seconded to Interpol in France where he rose to be head of the international Criminal Organisation and Violent Crime Unit.
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