Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam pleads with citizens to sympathize with the police when they pepper-spray reporters and knock people to the ground. The cops are, she suggests, extra-frazzled right now as they believe someone is about to launch bomb attacks against them.
The cops have been finding explosives all over the place, in July, October, December, February and – an enormous cache – last week. Yet despite the high-profile discoveries of lethal munitions and impressive numbers of suspects arrested, the community seems curiously unconcerned. The government is not putting up posters about suspicious objects. No overseas authorities have issued alerts. Her own insensibility and aloofness notwithstanding, Carrie doesn’t give the impression that she thinks it’s a real thing.
And now Socialist Realism comes to town courtesy of a huge banner hanging on what looks like Wanchai police station. The giant illustration shows fearless gallant cops defending civilization – including a stirring scene in which an officer is supporting a fallen comrade who has just been savagely attacked and dismembered by marauding mutant radical schoolgirls in yellow face-masks…
This is a classic example of a PR exercise that is actually aimed at its own subjects. Once admired and respected, the police are feeling misunderstood, under-appreciated and generally sorry for themselves. The portrayal of heart-tugging heroism is supposed to bolster the morale of the cops themselves, not win over the Hong Kong public.
Without (heaven forbid) wishing to sound cynical, the rather frequent uncovering of bomb plots – fleeting ones, no less – has a similar feel. To someone with a nasty and suspicious mind, the cops’ anti-terror swoops do not even seem intended to shock the public into fearing extremist protesters. The point is to convince the police themselves that what they are doing is noble and necessary.
Little wonder that the biggest genuine explosion we’ve heard recently is that of Commissioner Tang’s anger when his force’s façade is pricked by RTHK’s satire.
I am not convinced they are all real reporters at these protests
Far too many people wearing “press” vests, most of them look like instigators of trouble more than anything
Those bomb plots seem too suspiciously to have come out of the minds of people who were on the wrong side of the 1967 leftist riots. BTW, just looked up the stats from then: 15 died in bomb attacks, with 832 people sustaining injuries, between May and December. How many casualties from bomb attacks have there been in 2019-2020?
The HKPF are now isolated from society in general. They aren’t trusted or respected. They are feared – not by criminals – by the public. THey demand to be respected – they don’t give it. They come out in packs – no Bobbies on the Beat anymore. They dress and act like Stormtroopers; No ID, every possible piece of body armour, every possible weapon that can be hung, slung and carried. They have armoured cars and water cannon. And it is never enough. They still can’t ‘win’.
So – just maybe this isn’t a war that can be won by brutality and thuggery.
But does anyone have any faith that the puppet administration or its masters could possibly conceive of any other avenue to solve the problems?
No.
@steve – On that basis, one could doubt whether the middle-aged bloke three cops (yes, 3!) pepper=sprayed the other because he objected to them barging into him was also an “instigator”.
I too wonder about the yellow vests with cameras, but I’m damn glad they’re present to record the popo’s shameful mischief. Put that in your guide book.
I am not convinced they are all real HK Police at these protests.
Far too many people wearing “uniforms” not displaying any identification whatsoever and their faces covered by masks. Some of them look like instigators of trouble more than anything.
@Steve Copeland
I agree. Almost all of the local “press pack” members are fake and there simply to act as blockers and/or niggle the law enforcers. In my view, they are vermin.
Well said, Stephen – more HKPF apologists we do not need.
@ Andrew:
Right now it’s just beatings and tear gas. They haven’t ramped up the whole surveillance state, kangaroo court, destruction of due process, mass incarceration thing. From their point of view, they’ve gone easy on us.
We have their money by the nuts so they don’t dare. Yet.
Steve Copeland you aren’t fooling anyone with that name. You are just Reactor #4 with a new name or some other slime bag shill
Surely the police officers responding to these ‘bomb plots’ are aware it’s all a set-up, or at the very least have their suspicions? Or maybe I give them too much credit. Anyway, I still think it’s mainly to justify the introduction of an article 23 bill, which could make an appearance soon.
@ Mark Bradley
I don’t know who Reactor #4 is, but having checked previous threads, I can find some of the posts. Nor am I Adams, but I think I know who you are referring to (NTSCMP)
Having avoided all protests, perhaps I am being Naive. But my observation from videos I have seen is that the “reporters” seem to be part of the front line, their appearance may just be giving some individuals encouragement to wind up the police, then they video the police reaction, which at times may be a step too far, but also too restrained at times.
Good luck telling anyone apart from anyone else. You’re all in the same sack now, more so than ever and none of you has any right…
Oh…….oh………….oh no……………………………..
Understanding and tolerance for the police?
My arse!
Since Reactor #4 and Penny are the same person, and they both ‘agree’ with Steve Copeland, I’ll leave it to you to connect the dots.
I find it somewhat disturbing that Hemlock and other commentators on this forum appear to cast doubts on these bomb arrests. What is there to doubt ? For the last 8 months we have seen a steady ratcheting of the violence to such a point that elderly members of the public are being burnt alive or stoned to death for daring to stand up to these thugs. Whilst the police have faced knife and arrow attacks as well as being on the receiving end of 1000s of petrol bombs. Waging an out and out terrorist campaign can only be the next possible step. Why cannot you give credit where credit is due ? I have no idea how these arrests and seizing of IEDs have come about. Good intelligence, good detective work or just plain dumb luck ? Whatever. You appear to be disappointed that people’s body parts aren’t splattered over Central from one of these going off. The HK Police are doing a wonderful job in the most trying of circumstances. And if you don’t believe me, these cases will eventually appear in the High Court in front of a jury of your peers where the truth will come out. For me, I would be interested to hear the testimony of one of the perps found in possession of 2,489KG of explosives.
@Dragonfly
One would certainly hope they’re aware as they would seem to be most likely the ones cooking all the explosives up in the first place.
You might think that sounds a bit of a stretch, but if it isn’t the cops’ EOD boys planting all these bombs and explosives, then we have to make these rather more far-fetched assumptions:
1) Hong Kongers are all supernaturally good at bomb-making:— no one’s blown up their flat or blown off their fingers despite making stuff that’s thoroughly unstable, and they always seem to make it right first time despite it being quite difficult to make and most bomb-makers elsewhere needing a few goes at it to get it right.
2) Although they’re enormously clever at practical chemistry, and Health & Safety, Hong Kongers are woeful underachievers at targeting. Having gone to all the risk of making bombs, they have eschewed attacking the obvious police stations, government buildings, CCP buildings etc, and instead focused on targeting a public hospital’s disabled toilet, and a bin at Shenzhen bay border.
3) Despite being radicalised to the point where they’re making bombs, none of the bombers has acquired and used a gun. Bombers elsewhere generally get into a shoot out with the police as they’re being arrested, because they are generally guarding their bomb-making factory. Our super careful revolutionary guerrilla chemists don’t seem fussed about security.
4) HKPF and the HK Government are super chill about tangible threats to their continued existence. That’s why they haven’t issued any alerts, or started public service campaigns, or erroneously exploded hundreds of backpacks, bins and cardboard boxes.
In order to believe this one, all you have to do is pay absolutely no attention to the last 9 months of them tear gassing, beating, pepper spraying, and shooting unarmed schoolkids who protest against them (ask Steve Copeland for pointers here). You will also have to ignore PK Tang throwing multiple wobblies about RTHK taking the piss, and press reports of them having dinner with Triads etc. etc. And thousands of whiny government press releases.
5) HKPF EOD policy appears to be that the EOD guys can be super lax about health and safety with bombs unless they’re old WWII ones: — 450kg of HE in an old US bomb, and they must evacuate over 2000 people, in a large radius, but when they “discover” 2,600kg of HE — “Meh. We’ll just blow up the unknown explosive without bothering the folk next door.” It’s as if they already know what the mystery explosive is and exactly how powerful it is, but they’d have had to have made it themselves to know that with even a slight measure of certainty.
6) The HKPF are utterly unable to find or identify triads in Yuen Long even though they go to the same banquets and met them on the street still armed half an hour after the crime; find space on their uniforms to put their ID; find and stop anyone double-parking; or even recognise human beings if they’re wearing yellow. The same HKPF are strangely, preternaturally good at discovering bomb-making rings, usually long before they even start doing any actual bombing — which is the point where most other, lesser police forces have to start.
@Quentin Quarantino – how could you possibly mistake me for Reactor #4 and think that I agree with Steve Copeland? Whoever they may be.
I was – and am – agreeing with Stephen. Suggest you read the comments again – more carefully this time.
@Not Not Reactor #4
Remind me who lost an election? Who’s approval rate is down to single digits? Which “disciplinary” forces has been rated untrustworthy by almost half of the population?
The planting of evidence of violent intent on political dissidents has been a routine and well-documented police tactic throughout the communist world for 75 years.
Anyone who thinks the HKPF under the direction of their CCP masters are too high-minded to stoop to such tactics isn’t thinking clearly.
@Reactionary #4: What’s missing, of course, is transparency. Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but the HKPooPoo has a real credibility problem these days, although it’s true that there are some extraordinarily credulous knuckledraggers out there who purport to believe them. Many were previously convinced by credible authorities that it was perfectly safe to purchase real estate near the Fukushima reactors.
@Steve Cloud Cuckooland: Thank you for acknowledging that your assertions are emanating directly from your posterior.
@Cui bonobo?
Absolutely comprehensive and convincing!
And thanks for quoting my old pal Cicero!
It’s rather obvious that NR#4 and NNR#4 and S.Copeland are creations of the same “super brain”. It seems, he/she used “Oskar” Kwok’s gibberish (OK = dimwit popo who was speaking at the UN), without quoting the great man.
@ Cui bonobo?
Post of the Year!
The most convincing admission that we are being subject to mise en scène is the complete lack of response on the part of the usual defenders of law and order, Junius, Regina, Letitia, Renta mobs. One would expect massive street turnouts but the reality is that more energy is going into the blast RTHK campaign.
@cui bonobo, good observations. What amazes me is how the plods found explosives in a field in NT and instantly knew who planted it and what it was going to be used for : https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/4/215483/More-explosives-found
In fact, they always seem to know the exact purpose of the material they discover and when and where it will be deployed.