Occupy Central
Occupy Central is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to "international standards." The movement was initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, in January 2013.
Umbrella Movement
The Umbrella Movement (Chinese: 雨傘運動; pinyin: yǔsǎn yùndòng) is a loose political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 144:
Full coverage of the day’s events on 08-05
Stephen Lo takes over Hong Kong Police Force as commissioner as Andy Tsang retires
Known as a hardliner, Tsang, handing over the reins to Stephen Lo Wai-chung at a press briefing yesterday, maintained the force's relations with the public had not worsened during his term, while his successor said he would seek to better explain the force's position to the public, which may have "misunderstood" police work in the past.
Tsang also reiterated that what he described as an increased "sense of lawlessness" after last year's Occupy protests would be another challenge ahead for Lo.
"In the past few years, we've seen increasingly radicalised protests and I am sure Mr Lo is well-prepared for this," Tsang said.
The force is seeking to buy three water cannon vehicles for HK$27 million, as well as adding 500 new officers - most of whom would go toward beefing up the Police Tactical Unit's public order capabilities.
"On the other hand, we've seen serious crime again descending on Hong Kong," Tsang said. "This is another challenge that the new commissioner will have to deal with."
Asked if he felt the police's relationship with the public had reached its worst level in decades during his term - as previous public surveys suggested - Tsang said only those who seek to "openly defy the law" would arrive at such a conclusion.
"If we ask the [Queenie Law] kidnappers how they see police-public relations after we arrest them, they would certainly say it's bad and such an answer is to be expected," Tsang said.
Speaking to reporters after Tsang, the new police chief said he would seek to "rectify the misunderstanding" that the force had been biased during Occupy and hoped that the public would come to see the police as their "family members".
"I believe I will not be very different from Mr Tsang because the police force's mission has always been the same," Lo said.
Lo and behold, trouble ahead!
Getting a new police chief at this time of political transition in Hong Kong is always going to spark a lot of questions about what the changeover means?
For Stephen Lo Wai-chung isn't merely taking over from Andy Tsang Wai-hung an elite force; he is also inheriting a whole host of hot-button issues from his predecessor, who became unpopular, especially among the pro- democracy crowd, amid perceptions police handling of Occupy movement protesters took on a decidedly pro- administration bias.
Lo, who joined the force in 1984, is among a select few the force has pointedly groomed for top management roles: he was seconded to Interpol general secretariat in 1999 and became assistant director of its Asia and South Pacific branch.
At his inaugural press conference as police commissioner, Lo said yesterday that his crime-fighting priorities are the twin threats of tech and terror, the dangers they pose as obvious to him as to the world at large.
There is little doubt that the police force here - given its high standards of training as well as its cooperation with the international security community - will be be effective in taking on any threat that emerges in these two areas. But domestically it faces challenges of a totally different order.
For its relations with the public have fallen to a critical point amid the Occupy heat. Indeed, things have gotten so bad that Chinese University of Hong Kong scholar Ma Ngok has pledged not to write references for students applying to join the force.
Can Lo reverse the frostiness in police-public relations that crept in during Tsang's reign? He can try, but it won't be easy.
Nicknamed the "Bald Eagle," Tsang has always been seen as a hardliner in the police. Yet, there were circumstances beyond his control that brought about an ice age in relations: a remarkable escalation in the perennial tussle over democratic reforms.
Positioned in the frontline face to face with demonstrators demanding greater freedom to elect their chief executive, officers have duties that nobody envies. Yet the police management could have performed better in communicating with the public and media.
If Tsang is a hawk, what is Lo?
In meeting the media yesterday, Lo appeared to be someone who can handle controversial issues more diplomatically, so he could be less of a hawk. However, only time will tell if he can reach out to the various stakeholders in our community.
First, Lo has a lot on his in tray: around half the cases brought against Occupy protesters being thrown out by the courts; outcries over police investigations of attacks on TVB and RTHK reporters during pro- government protests; and the saga involving the kicking of an Occupy protester by officers.
Perhaps, the public should not expect Lo to handle the hot-button cases in a manner wholly different from Tsang.
For despite his apparently dovish image, Lo's hands are no less tied than Tsang's by the current political milieu.
If the stalemate over political reforms is resolved, it's foreseeable that life will be easier for the new commissioner.
Otherwise, Lo will have to admit to himself that he is better off without the legacy of Tsang's hot seat.
In the final analysis, the police force cannot resolve political differences: that is a job for the government.
Coconuts
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