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This is the notorious scene from 21 July, when white-clad thugs attacked commuters - and were let off by HK Police.
Now, the IPCC (the much-criticised police watchdog) says that it was fine b/c it was a "tense" situation and thus "impractical" to arrest.
Highly unconvincing. https://twitter.com/damon_pang/status/1261176287764213760
Now, the IPCC (the much-criticised police watchdog) says that it was fine b/c it was a "tense" situation and thus "impractical" to arrest.
Highly unconvincing. https://twitter.com/damon_pang/status/1261176287764213760
There have been hundreds of incidents where HK Police charged into a large crowd of pro-democracy protestors and violently made arrests - often inflaming the situation further. Yet, for the white-clad thugs, the IPCC says it was fine not to arrest due to the "tense" situation.
Video of the HK Police action on 21 July (which IPCC says was fine): https://twitter.com/RealHKNews/status/1153029272963047425?s=20
The white-clad men were openly carrying weapons - and yet no arrests (or even stop-and-search) by HK Police.
Cf. pro-democracy protestors, who have been arrested and convicted for "possession of offensive weapons" even for a laser pointer & umbrella: https://hongkongfp.com/2019/11/08/16-year-old-convicted-carrying-laser-pointer-hiking-pole-modified-umbrella-hong-kong-protest/
Cf. pro-democracy protestors, who have been arrested and convicted for "possession of offensive weapons" even for a laser pointer & umbrella: https://hongkongfp.com/2019/11/08/16-year-old-convicted-carrying-laser-pointer-hiking-pole-modified-umbrella-hong-kong-protest/
This is how HK Police dealt with pro-democracy protestors (in another district, Sheung Wan) on the SAME night as the Yuen Long incident.
Does it look like the HK Police were afraid of taking action due to a "tense" situation? https://www.facebook.com/387603714763860/posts/1106825159508375?s=1381073697&v=e&sfns=mo
Does it look like the HK Police were afraid of taking action due to a "tense" situation? https://www.facebook.com/387603714763860/posts/1106825159508375?s=1381073697&v=e&sfns=mo
In December, the international expert panel (which IPCC itself appointed) dramatically resigned due to serious concerns about the toothless nature of the IPCC ("crucial shortfall...in the powers, capacity and independent investigative capacity of IPCC") https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/11/foreign-experts-quit-hong-kong-police-brutality-inquiry-over-lack-of-powers
In October (before the international expert panel resigned), a Canadian panel member (Gerry McNeilly) pointed out that the IPCC lacked investigative powers which were usually crucial for police watchdog bodies (e.g. power to summon witnesses). https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-it-will-be-extremely-difficult-for-watchdog-panel-to-probe-police/
In November (before the int'l expert panel resigned), it issued a statement expressing concern about “structural limitations in the scope and powers of the IPCC inquiry...inhibiting its ability to establish a coherent and representative body of evidence.” https://time.com/5723615/hong-kong-ipcc-police-complaints/
In addition to the IPCC's serious structural problems, there is also the problem of its membership. As pro-democracy legislator Kenneth Leung (who is a former member of IPCC) said, the present IPCC is now stacked with pro-government loyalists. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3016405/nothing-independent-about-hong-kong-police-complaints
For example, all three of IPCC's vice-chairmen are pro-Beijing politicians (Cheung Wah-fung, Tse Wai-chuen, and Yick Chi-ming) https://www.ipcc.gov.hk/en/about_us/membership.html
In 2016, the UN Committee against Torture also noted the deficiencies in the IPCC structure (including its lack of powers to investigate, on its own, any police misconduct); and urged the Hong Kong govt to establish a truly independent investigative body http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=CAT/C/CHN-HKG/CO/5&Lang=E
As another reminder of what happened on 21 July in Yuen Long, see this excellent report by NY Times (explaining how hundreds of white-clad thugs attacked pro-democracy protestors and other commuters; and then how the HK Police walked away): https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1156058364461404160?s=20
