In
Hong Kong animosity between police and citizens has grown to an
alarming level as ever-increasing amounts of tear gas, rubber
bullets, beatings and water cannon have been used to deal with the
resentful crowds. In the past four months more than 2,700 arrests
have been made.
“Larry
Yeung” joined the police more than 20
years ago. Yeung
sympathises with the protesters: “If I wasn’t a policeman I’d
be out on the streets like them.” and
he explained, “Police
should protect citizens, but instead, we’ve become a tool of the
authorities for ‘stability maintenance’. Our top officials are
hiding and we’ve become their shields.” Yeung disapproves of his
colleagues’ violent behaviour, something that has driven a wedge
between them. “When we were in the
academy, we were taught to use only the minimum amount of force. It’s
not for us to deliver punishment,” he says. “But now, the
majority of the police think the ‘rioters’ need to be punished …
they attack people indiscriminately, even non-protesters. The
awful thing is, the majority of police don’t see it as a problem.
When they watch footage of police beating people, they shout for joy:
‘Yeah, we’re hitting the cockroaches!’,” he says. “They
don’t give any consideration to their high ideals of freedom and
democracy.”
Asked why police have resorted to increasingly brutal
acts, Yeung says many of his colleagues were angry and felt entitled
to abuse their powers. “It’s the ‘Lucifer effect’– power
drives people crazy. They’re angry and they need an outlet. But
this is sacrificing the reputation of the police force.” He
maintains he can only support a government that serves the people.
“If
the country is built with flesh and blood, if people’s freedoms and
lives have to be sacrificed for ‘development’, I’d rather not
have that,” he says. “The very least I can do is to refrain from
doing evil myself and to remind my colleagues not to get excessive.
But they often ask: ‘So, which side are you on?’”
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