Former Anti-Riot Police: the 21 July Incident was Absurd 

Since the beginning of the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement last year, police brutality and unlawful arrests have been happening almost every day. The irony is that the night of 21 July 2019, the night without police, was the most painful scar among Hong Kong people. After 366 days, the white-clad mobs are still running around scot free despite having been photographed at the crime scene. The Independent Police Complaints Council report suggests that the police force did not collude with the mobs. It was only after the recent media exposure that the police officially admitted that there were undercover cops on the scene. On 21 July, Wah, who is now an ex-policeman, dressed in full anti-riot gear, was forced to spend the long night in the cheers and howls of his colleagues. That night, his faith collapsed.  Feeling angry and powerless, he chose to "flee", "If I don't go, I won't be able to face myself.” 

Wah graduated from police college before Occupying Central and looks the part. He spoke calmly and chose his words carefully. When he was a teenager, he aspired to be a police officer. His initial intention was simply “to help others." He laughed and said that when ordinary people "want to help others", they may not necessarily think of becoming the police. But even a simple non-eye-catching theft case in the eyes of his colleagues, from investigation to solving the case, brought him a great sense of success, "I can give an answer to the victim.”

Given his seniority, he served as anti-riot police in the recent social movement. He was on duty from time to time, but not at the forefront. He was mostly responsible for back up support such as body searches. He admitted he felt "fortunate" that he had never used any force on the scene. On 21 July, he was deployed to Hong Kong Island, mainly on standby. It was only through police radio and live news that he learned of the attack by the mobs in white in Yuen Long.

Teams on Hong Kong Island were on standby and not deployed

"I was very naive and thought that it was a mistake in strategic planning by the police force. But I then thought about it again afterwards and felt this conclusion was not likely.” Wah revealed that the police force asked all the officers internally as early as April 2019 whether they could work continuously and cancel their leaves through out the summer holiday period. In retrospect, he realized something seemed strange. "It sounded like they expected the situation would worsen long before.” Wah said that the force” had never asked about that before.” They anticipated that the legislative amendment would lead to conflicts and so pre-arranged manpower. “They would have expected something to happen on 21 July. In theory, they would have deployed a team to Yuen Long. Why was it a no-show?”

He pointed out that even if there were demonstrations in Sheung Wan at the same time, there should be sufficient force in place. According to his estimation, the Yuen Long Police District alone should have about 30 to 40 people on duty at the time. In addition, they also have the Quick Reaction Force and Special Tactical Force on standby on Hong Kong Island. "At that time I was so worried, when would help arrive? When would someone stop it? How many people would be beaten up? How many people would be injured?" Wah paused for a moment, “Will I be dispatched to deal with this?” However, the commander waited a long time before finally sending the PTU (Police Tactical Unit) that was handling the conflict in Western District to Yuen Long.

Wah, who wanted to be a real law enforcement officer, watched the live broadcast with other riot police. His colleague shouted "Well done!” and "They deserved this!” at the screen. Wah spoke with his colleagues on the spot, but he was ignored. "They were too busy "enjoying" the footage in front of them.

What was shown on screen at that moment was the scene of a man in white attacking a citizen outside the gate of Yuen Long Station. The reporter asked Wah how he was feeling at the time. He waited a few seconds before he slowly said, “It felt ridiculous."

As he was too junior, even if he thought it was obviously unreasonable, he still could not have accessed confidential documents to get to the bottom of it but it was not easy. Wah could only ask about 20 colleagues from various police districts, both openly and secretly. He learned that the Regional Command & Control Centre had instructed police officers not to enter the shopping mall and MTR station to enforce the law. Since the beginning of the movement, the Regional Command & Control Centre has been responsible for dispatching riot police to deal with different incidents and the director of that centre at the time was Mak Jin-ho, then Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations). As of October last year, more than two months after the occurrence of 21 July, Mak and Kwok Yum-yong, who is also an Assistant Commissioner of Police, exchanged their positions. Man then became the commander of the New Territories North Region. This transfer was regarded by those outside of the force as "abandoning future promotion." Wah criticised the police force for knowing they had done wrong, but still refused to admit that "many people were victimized as a result, and many involved in the case escaped." To this day, only 7 people have been charged with participation in riots and inflicting grievous bodily harm in the 21 July incident. The truth is still unknown.

Frontline influences Upper Management and Discipline collapses

No one is facing any severe punishment from the top management to the frontline officers. “Mostly, it's just verbal warning. There is no order." According to Wah, the problems of lower ranks influencing the upper ranks are quite common and serious. For example, there have been many internal notices demanding frontline police officers to wear police number badges, but no one followed. As a result, higher ranks changed to issue code name cards. He said he had insisted on wearing the police number badge for a long time. But he was criticized by his colleagues. “Maybe my colleagues were worried about being looked up or it revealed their disobedience if I wore it.”

From refusing to show the police number badge and code name card, to the uniforms covered with unrelated badges such as "Forest Fire" and "Super", the police management still defended the frontline police saying "it is understandable to improve team spirit and morale." Wah bluntly denounced this move as "self-deception". He reiterated that the internal guidelines had been issued many times to demand frontline police officers not to wear any non-official badges, accessories or equipment. "As the juniors are uncontrollable and do not obey orders, the superiors can only bend their internal orders or guidelines to fit frontline behaviours or actions." Perhaps the deeper the love, the harsher the reprimand. Seeing the police force discipline collapse, Wah could not help but sigh, "I don't know who can reset the discipline in the future."

In the interview, Wah mentioned "the intention to help others" no less than ten times. But this seemingly simple wish is so close yet so far away. The 21 July incident taught Wah that his view was completely different from the pervasive core values of the police force. "It is difficult to find fellow travellers because there is only one voice in the force." He bluntly stated that ninety percent of police force are “blue to black" [pro-government] and "extremely incapable of following logic”. They hold firm belief to the old Chinese saying, “Those who take the king’s food also have to shoulder the king’s worries". They do not understand that public spending comes from taxpayers, and often bullied police officers with different political views. To avoid being targeted, Wah rarely expressed his views in front of his colleagues. Among the police officers he knows, there were several police officers who were boycotted and chose to leave.

Wah was not deployed to Yuen Long on the night of 21 July. So he could only watch the live broadcast alone in silence. Later, he learned that one of his friends was nearly attacked on the West Rail. "This feeling is the main reason I decided to leave the police force." He was capable but he could not help. This made Wah feel even more frustrated and angry. "Even if you see someone around you doing something wrong, you can't stop it,” he said helplessly. “If I don't leave, I won't be able to face myself."

Under the National Security Law, the power of the police force is undoubtedly further enhanced. Under the whirlpool of white terror, why was he still willing to be interviewed? Wah replied, “I am doing the right thing! I am just describing what I saw or what I believe. Just facts without distortion." The moment he put down his gun and took off his uniform, he hesitated but at the same time felt relieved. His family and friends came to congratulate him. "They felt that I could finally leave a dangerous place." He said frankly that he did not regret becoming a policeman, "I couldn’t change the police force. I had my own limits. At least I did nothing wrong."

Source: Apple Daily HK (Text and photos)

https://hk.appledaily.com/breaking/20200721/6F5A2QOIJMGSITRPUDRHHDHQNI