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Rioters set fire and confront police outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in south China's Hong Kong, Nov. 17, 2019.
**- The report reviewed facts comprehensively and clarified rumors against the police. **
- The report will help the society re-recognize the rule of law and then return to the right track of the rule of law.
HONG KONG, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The thematic study report on Hong Kong's social unrest released Friday by a police watchdog has been hailed in the Hong Kong society as objective, impartial and professional, prompting calls for supporting the police law enforcement and restoring the rule of law.
Based on a large number of facts from large-scale public events in Hong Kong from June 9, 2019 to March 2020, the "Thematic Study Report on the Public Order Events arising from the Fugitive Offenders Bill since June 2019 and the Police Actions in Response" by Hong Kong's Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) concluded that the initial peaceful demonstrations were degenerated into violent protests, and clarified many rumors against the police.
Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, vice chairman of the IPCC, noted that the IPCC spent 10 months on this report and invited foreign experts to take part in its work. It has been adhering to the principle of fairness and justice, and hopes the report could help calm the social unrest.
Junius Ho, a member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said the report reflected the facts and reached its conclusion in a pertinent and independent way.
On the Yuen Long incident on July 21, 2019, in particular, the report made neutral description and held that the police law enforcement was not influenced by any political stand and was in accordance with the law, Ho noted, calling on the public to keep a clear head and not to believe slanders.
Ho agreed with the report which said that the protests of the last 10 months have metamorphosed to extreme forms of violence, suggesting that the HKSAR government review the demonstrations' impact on the society immediately and follow up accordingly.
Willy Fu, Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation executive council vice chairman, said the report reviewed facts comprehensively and clarified rumors against the police, particularly the rumor that the police killed protesters at a metro station on Aug. 31.
Andrew Fung Wai-kwong, former information coordinator for HKSAR chief executive, said the Hong Kong police have been exercising restraint during the unrest despite various forms of violence against them and their families.
This impartial and objective report effectively refuted many rumors against the police, he added.
Anthony Neoh (4th R), chairman of Hong Kong's Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC), briefs journalists about the report in Hong Kong, south China, May 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po said in an editorial on Saturday that the report reflected in a truthful and impartial way the performance of the Hong Kong police in the unrest, and affirmed the legitimacy and necessity of the police in enforcing the law and maintaining public order.
The unrest sparked by the now-withdrawn ordinance amendments concerning fugitive transfers has shown a trend of turning into home-grown terrorism, the editorial noted, calling on the HKSAR government and the whole community to give priority to stopping the "black violence", opposing deeds threatening "mutual destruction" and safeguarding the rule of law.
All the Hong Kong residents must support the police in ending the violence and chaos in accordance with the law, so that prosperity and stability could be restored in the community, it said.
Hong Kong Commercial Daily said in an editorial article on Saturday that the IPCC's report and recommendations will not only help clarify the truth of the past, but also help the society re-recognize the rule of law and then return to the right track of the rule of law.
Only when the rule of law is upheld again can Hong Kong solve the conflicts and start afresh, the article pointed out. ■
