At the beginning of 2020, at the time of saying goodbye to 2019, "Global People", a magazine of "People's Daily", selected Hong Kong Police as the person of the year. In 2019, the Hong Kong police moved us so much and they deserved to be selected as the person of the year. As the last line of defense for Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient, Hong Kong police have paid too much. May all your desires be fulfilled in the coming year.

A tribute to Asia's most professional and sophisticated disciplined services

Since June 2019, there has been “protests” in Hong Kong, and the situation has been complicated and grim. The Hong Kong police, who are on the front line of fighting violence, have endured tremendous pressures and even injuries from both physical and mental aspects. Over the past six months, Hong Kong police officers have performed their duties in accordance with the law, performed professionally and reasonably, and made important contributions to maintaining social stability in Hong Kong. They have won praise and support from the general public.

The Hong Kong Police has always been hailed as the most professional and sophisticated disciplined service in Asia; Hong Kong has been at the forefront of many global safety and security investigations. According to the World Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum in October 2018, Hong Kong ranks sixth in the world in the reliability of police services among the 140 evaluated economic systems; Hong Kong ranks fifth in the world among 142 countries and regions. By maintaining a low crime rate and a high crime detection rate in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Police Force has repeatedly been hailed by Interpol as the "Best in Asia" police agency.

Facing the violence of thugs, the Hong Kong Police have not flinched, and tried their best to maintain the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. The following scenes have made a profound impact:

On October 13, police officer Alex and his colleague were working on a criminal damage case at Kwun Tong Station, MTR. Alex suddenly felt a stab in the back of his neck and instinctively turned to subdue the armed mob. Unaware of his injuries, Alex looked up to see his colleague's nervous eyes and Shouting face. The floor was covered with blood and his coat was dyed red. He discovered that the blood was coming from his newly cut neck.

On August 11, a group of thugs surrounded and threw petrol bombs and bricks into the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station. Police officer Philip wore an explosion-proof clothing was defending inside the police station when he heard the yelling of his colleague. He turned around and saw a colleague catched fire on his leg and fell to the ground in pain. Philip rushed forward with a full lunge on his colleague's leg, relying on the fireproof performance of the explosion-proof clothing to successfully extinguish the flame on his colleague's leg. Philip repeatedly said, "If I don't pounce on myself, the fire will swell out immediately, and my colleague will be dead!"

Also on August 11，police officer Tan Ruxi learned that his wife was pregnant again. But soon, the privacy of Hong Kong police was leaked online. "Our photos, phone numbers, home addresses…were all posted on the Internet. Those people not only scolded me and my family, but also called on to" take care of "my son! "Speaking of what happened 4 months ago, Tan Ruxi was still angry.

Cut necks, shot arrows, colleagues' legs on fire，More than 2,000 police officers and their families have been maliciously leaked personal privacy…but they were not afraid of violence and wangted to protect Hong Kong.

There are about 30,000 police officers in Hong Kong, but the vast majority of them are conventional police forces. Their job is to deal with security problems in general, not with large social disturbances. There are only about 1,730 police officers who can be dispatched at any time to help stop a riot.

The number of police officers is severely insufficient, so the situation faced by “Bald Sergeant”Lau Cha Kei has repeatedly appeared: several police officers may be surrounded by dozens or even hundreds of thugs.

Hong Kong police are restrained and western developed countries police are tough

The restrained use of force by Hong Kong police in the face of protesters has not been met with peaceful and rational treatment. Instead, violence is escalating within a visible range. In this case, what the police in the western developed countries have done may give us more enlightenment, let us understand that using violence to control violence may not be the best method, but it is the fastest method. According to some active or retired police officers from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and other countries, police in western countries usually adopt a tough and decisive law enforcement approach when handling similar recent demonstrations in Hong Kong to control the situation as soon as possible.

1) Us police: resolutely enforce the law and force the dispersal

The United States gives citizens the right to free speech, but only in a peaceful way, said li mingcheng, a retired police officer from Los Angeles county, California. Police in the United States deal with protests in accordance with the law. The laws in different states are slightly different, but the approach is similar.

If the protests continue to escalate, the police will use means to break up the demonstration. The first is verbal counseling. If repeated remonstrance fails, may use mounted police, and use water cannon, protective shields, smoke bombs and other tools to force dispersal. If the police still cannot control the situation,  the state and federal governments will step in send a National Guard to help control the situation and declare a curfew. Once the curfew is in place, irrelevant personnel are not allowed to be outside during the curfew or they will be arrested. The situation will soon be under control.

Houston police assistant chief Henry Gowan said the difference between a peaceful march and a riot is that police take immediate action at a rally if there is any threat to the lives of people or police. If an offender is found at a rally, the police will arrest him after the rally if the lives of other people are not in danger. If the situation is serious, the first priority for the police is to keep offenders away from the rest of the population to ensure their safety and to arrest them.

Mo Hu, a former deputy commissioner of the New York Police Department, said that in New York, if someone intentionally intercepts a subway or highway, he will be arrested immediately; if someone acts on the police, even if he pushes with his hands, the police can use the baton and immediately Handcuff the assailants; if there are acts like throwing bricks, bottles, cans or even arson during the procession, those with serious consequences can be sentenced to 30 years in prison; If a police officer is injured, attackers will be considered "aggravated assault ". The New York Police will surround the demonstrators in a certain range, prevent them from playing "guerrilla warfare", and set up several entrances. If anyone wants to join the parade, the police will search for parcels at the entrance. Any offensive items, such as umbrellas, sticks and steel hats, will not be allowed in the parade area.

2) French police: tough and restrained

Since the first yellow vests, demonstrations have been held every Saturday in France, with violent beatings and violent clashes between police and demonstrators.

The French government has maintained a tough stance in the face of violent yellow vest demonstrations. First, strengthen the legislation, introduce the anti-violent demonstration law, ban the masked parade, strengthen the search for the marchers, and delimit the forbidden parade area. For example, the French National Assembly passed the “Anti-Violence Act” in February aimed at preventing violence in the march and punishing the perpetrators. The bill empowers police to search luggage bags and vehicles at the march site and surrounding areas, and allows local governments On the premise that certain people's actions pose a serious threat to public safety, "these people are prohibited from participating in demonstrations. The bill also stipulates that “deliberately or partially covering the face and attempting to be unrecognized after disrupting public order” during the demonstration will face up to 1 year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros (about 115,000 yuan) . In addition, the French government has announced other measures, including giving the police greater autonomy at the scene, using drones and video equipment to identify perpetrators of violence, and increasing fines for undeclared processions.

French police have a tough stance, but try to exercise restraint when dealing with violent marches to prevent bloody conflicts and casualties. The French police dealt with the conflict that lasted for several months.Although police armoured vehicles, defense missile launchers and tear gas were used, no demonstrators have been killed in direct clashes, with only a few killed in car crashes blocking roads.

3)UK: Increase police force and speed up sentencing

On August 4, 2011, a young man was shot dead by Tottenham police in London. Some local people protested and protested on August 6. That night, the demonstrations turned into riots, which spread throughout London in just a few days and spread to cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol and Leeds. Before the situation subsided, arson and looting for 4 days caused a total of 5 deaths and more than 4,000 riot participants were arrested.

During the riots, then British Prime Minister Cameron said on Downing Street that Britain needs to increase its police force and more "powerful" response measures to allow those criminals to "feel the power of law." According to reports, in order to quickly stabilize the situation, the British government has deployed a large number of riot police in the relevant areas. More than 16,000 police have been deployed in London alone, and about 4,000 suspects have been arrested. Boris Johnson, then mayor of London, said that the London police were all over the streets and had the ability to dispatch quickly and suppress the violence when it showed signs of violence.

Looking forward to 2020! Go ahead! True hero!

In 2019, in the face of the deteriorating law enforcement environment and repeated challenges to law enforcement powers, the Hong Kong police were fearless and grasped the nettle. They deserve the title of hero. The top priority for Hong Kong is to stop violence, safeguard the rule of law, and restore order. Every citizen who cherishes Hong Kong and cares for Hong Kong should continue to firmly support the fair enforcement of the Hong Kong Police Force. In 2020, sincerely hope that the Hong Kong police can take good care of themselves. Also hope that every ordinary Hong Kong citizen can distinguish right from wrong, give more support to the police, say "no" to all kinds of illegal and disorderly ACTS in Hong Kong, and cooperate with the Hong Kong police force to take concrete actions to safeguard the rule of law foundation in Hong Kong and maintain social prosperity and stability. Look forward to 2020! Go ahead! Hong Kong police!