Hong Kong must not rely on the police alone to restore calm to the city as the current impasse requires a political solution that should start with the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill that sparked the crisis, the chairman of the police watchdog has said.
Senior lawyer Anthony Neoh SC, who heads the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC), also did not rule out having a commission of inquiry at a later stage, once other restorative steps have been taken, including bringing about reconciliation.
“I don’t think the police by themselves can deal with the situation,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Post. His assessment stands in stark contrast to the brave face being put up by the city’s top police officers, who have expressed confidence in doing what the government has asked of them.
Neoh said police had been placed in the invidious position of enforcing law and order, and then having to cope with the fallout from Hongkongers who sympathise with the protesters.
He noted that if the police thought laws were being broken, they would have to deal with it. “But then, the more they deal with it, the more antipathy they create at the moment. And it becomes a vicious circle as we can all see. Let’s call a spade a spade on this one,” he said.
And without a political solution, Hong Kong would face either a war of attrition or spiralling conflict, he went on.
Hong Kong must not rely on the police alone to restore calm to the city as the current impasse requires a political solution that should start with the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill that sparked the crisis, the chairman of the police watchdog has said.
Senior lawyer Anthony Neoh SC, who heads the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC), also did not rule out having a commission of inquiry at a later stage, once other restorative steps have been taken, including bringing about reconciliation.
“I don’t think the police by themselves can deal with the situation,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Post. His assessment stands in stark contrast to the brave face being put up by the city’s top police officers, who have expressed confidence in doing what the government has asked of them.
Neoh said police had been placed in the invidious position of enforcing law and order, and then having to cope with the fallout from Hongkongers who sympathise with the protesters.
He noted that if the police thought laws were being broken, they would have to deal with it. “But then, the more they deal with it, the more antipathy they create at the moment. And it becomes a vicious circle as we can all see. Let’s call a spade a spade on this one,” he said.
And without a political solution, Hong Kong would face either a war of attrition or spiralling conflict, he went on.
The decision on the solution must from both the central government and the Hong Kong administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, he added.
“Every time I see the chief executive, I mention to her, you need a political solution,” he said. “She agrees, and she says she’s working on it.”
On Lam and Beijing’s insistence that negotiations can only start after protesters stop the violence, Neoh said: “This will have to be a rough-and-ready line.”
Even if there are some minor radical actions, and the overall situation is peaceful, it could be time to “draw a line in the sand” and offer a political solution, he said.
Speaking over the weekend, he added that if there was peace during these past few days, it was perhaps time to start reviewing other options on the table.
Top of the protesters’ list of demands is the formal withdrawal of the now-abandoned extradition bill – a demand that Neoh described as “eminently reasonable”.