Chris Tang: Cometh the hour, cometh the man

Since Chris Tang Ping-keung, on Nov 19, became Hong Kong’s seventh commissioner of police since 1997, he has not put a foot wrong. Intelligent and articulate, and supportive of his officers, his assessments of the protest situation have been very accurate. He recognizes that there can be no concessions to the fanatics and their apologists, whose demands are simply “slogans”. At the same time, he acknowledges that violence will only end when people want it to end, and he has called for its condemnation.
In his career, Tang has acquired wide experience in various areas, including criminal investigation, international liaison and operational command. He has wide contacts, and even served as head of Interpol’s Criminal Organization and Violent Crime Unit, in Lyon, France. All his skills will be required to defend Hong Kong at this critical time, but he obviously has sure instincts.

As Tang has correctly noted, his is a metropolitan police force, trained to uphold general law and order, and not designed to handle long-term rioting. His officers, however, have clearly learned a huge amount about dealing with riots since June, including the techniques which are most effective in containing the mobs, and this is undoubtedly standing them in excellent stead. Their bravery and restraint, even when confronted by grave provocation and threats to life and limb, have been remarkable, and Tang has full cause to be proud of them.

Whereas, by contrast, many people have died as a result of police action in the recent riots in Chile, Ecuador and France, there have been no fatalities here in six months of rioting, which speaks volumes for the professionalism of Tang’s officers. Although his command certainly needs strengthening, this will inevitably take a while. In the meantime, he will need to make best use of the seasoned officers who have been seconded from the other disciplined services, including crack anti-riot personnel from the Correctional Services Department.

He is, moreover, fortunate to have inherited a force with excellent intelligence-gathering capabilities, which have the measure of the protest movement. Their discovery of guns, weapons and bomb caches has helped to avert disasters on our streets during the protests, and suggests that full use is being made of surveillance, monitoring techniques, and informers. Undercover operations have always played a vital part in successful policing, and nobody understands this better than Tang, with his Interpol background.
As regards the protesters’ demand for a commission of inquiry into police conduct, Tang’s analysis is spot-on. He says it would be used to target the police force and incite hatred of its officers, which would be an “injustice”, and must be rejected. A commission, of course, is simply a means of weakening the forces of law and order, and of turning attention away from those who caused the mayhem in the first place. This explains why the protesters, and the Civic Party crazies who egg them on, only demand an investigation into “police brutality”, and not a holistic inquiry, which would expose all their outrages since they first attacked the Legislative Council on June 12.

If, however, anyone has a complaint against the police, the Complaints Against Police Office, supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Committee, is the appropriate investigative body, and established procedures cannot be bypassed for political reasons. Tang is obviously right to point out the hypocrisy of the people who malign the police, yet turn a blind eye to the violence of the masked mobs.

A highly orchestrated, and well-financed campaign has been launched by the protest movement against the police. Defamatory advertisements have appeared in foreign newspapers, and lies have been peddled to anti-China organizations. Its objective has been to represent those who are enforcing the law and combating violence as the aggressors, and these fallacies have been swallowed by many, whether because of gullibility or malice. Tang’s conclusion, therefore, that “the mob and their supporters do not want us to enforce the law effectively so they do as much as they can to smear us”, is impeccable, and his message should resonate wherever decency and the rule of law are still valued.

As a result of the smear campaign, the United States and several other places have halted the supply of crowd control equipment to the police force, which may be problematic for Tang. This includes tear gas, which is an internationally recognized means of controlling riots, and whose use in Hong Kong is dictated by mob activity. Although some people have complained about the effects of the tear gas being used in urban areas, they will only have the protesters to blame if the replacement tear gas is not of the same quality as that being currently used. When, however, alternative suppliers are approached, Tang will undoubtedly try to ensure that their products are as safe as possible, although, as Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong has explained, the tear gas currently in use is no more harmful than barbecue smoke, and far less dangerous than the toxic dioxins generated when the mobs burn plastic barriers.

Any leader should try not only to inspire his subordinates, but also, wherever possible, to support them. Tang has said he will back his officers “fully in the exercise of their duties”, and this will boost their confidence in difficult times. As his trip to Beijing this month showed, Tang enjoys the respect of the leadership, and this should encourage his officers as they heroically confront those who have declared war on our society.

The police force is fortunate to have an officer of Tang’s stature at its helm at this time, and all the signs so far have been positive. He carries a heavy burden, but is highly qualified for the challenges to come. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

The author is a senior counsel, law professor and criminal justice analyst, and was previously the director of public prosecutions of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.