#CitizensPressConference
Only a Reform Would Do: The Quest for an Independent Investigation that Is True to Its Name

May 15, 2020 by Citizens’ Press Conference

//The IPCC’s lack of independence, and its use as yet another PR gig by the Hong Kong government, has brought doubts to the public on its credibility and relevance before it has even spoken. Chan continued to outline three main issues that the IPCC’s report does not have any statutory powers to address and thus would need to be done so by a newly formed Independent Commission of Inquiry.//

Read more:
https://telegra.ph/Only-a-Reform-Would-Do-The-Quest-for-an-Independent-Investigation-that-Is-True-to-Its-Name-05-15

Source: Citizens’ Press Conference; Stand News #May15
#IPCC #PoliceBrutality #PowerAbuse #HongKongProtests

Hong Kong‘s Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) has released its 999-page report on the behaviour of the police force during last year’s city-wide protests and unrest, concluding that officers generally acted within guidelines but there was “room for improvement.”

Why are we not surprised?

#IPCC #HongKongPolice

#IPCC Police Review Report Criticised for being false and biased

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20998

#IPCC Police Review Report Criticised for Being False and Biased

IPCC published its report on the anti-ELAB movement. Yuen Long District Councillor Tommy Cheung commented on the report on 17 May during RTHK’s City Forum program. Cheung said that he did not expect anything from the report: “you can’t be disappointed when you don’t have any expectation, but this report still blew our minds.”

He pointed out that the “facts” in the report were partial. In one instance, the report cited fake news and a fake poster calling for protest in Yuen Long on July 22, 2019 from Chinese social media, Weibo. Though it was known to be fake, the report still claimed that it was from LIHKG forum.

Cheung criticised IPCC for failing to verify its source and questioned the credibility of the report. IPCC council member Chan Kam-wing admitted that they “did not investigate”.

Cheung also indicated that the report reduced the July 21 incident into a “conflict between the black-clad and the white-clad". In reality, the white-clad gangsters did not just attack black-clad citizens, but also train passengers and passersby including a pregnant lady.

Moreover, the report justified the police’s claims such as “I can’t read the watch” and “I can’t see any weapon” as a “public relations” problem. Cheung showed that the report was biased towards the police: For instance, it was mentioned that someone tried to “freeze” the 999 call center, but in reality, they were citizens who tried to seek help.

Former Student Union President of the Education University Leung Yiu-ting, who was arrested during the 8.31 Prince Edward station incident, questioned why the police never seek information from witnesses. This contradicts the police saying that they want to investigate.

Source: Stand News #May17 #PoliceBrutality #HongKongPolice #721YuenLong #831PrinceEdward

Prof Clifford Stott, who sat on the international expert panel advising the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) before all of its members resigned last year over concerns about its limited powers, posted an excerpt of his report on Twitter.

After the IPCC report had been published, Prof Stott utilised the data thereof and issued his scientific analysis of the evolution of the 2019 protest movement in Hong Kong.

Stott's report discusses the inter-relationships between the policing and behavioural patterns of the 2019 movement. The movement can be divided into at least 3 key phases: protests against the controversial bill, protests against mainland influence into and over Hong Kong, and protest actions targeted at the police.

Had the #IPCC report included the aforementioned components and made a fair judgment on the protests, Prof Stott would not have quit the international expert panel. What is the implication of Prof Stott's quitting? And what is the implication of the evolution of the movement in Hong Kong?

#HKPolice #HongKongProtests
#HKPoliceBrutality

Source:
https://twitter.com/cliffordstott/status/1261699933276684288

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3084784/hong-kong-protests-after-quitting-inquiry-police

IPCC trusts and adopts entirely what the commissioner of police has said, instead of taking an objective and independent stance of investigation

#IPCC

#Interview
Ex-IPCC Panel Member: IPCC's incompetence and disproportionate criticism of protestors

In this interview, Clifford Stott, a former member of the international expert panel for the Independent Police Complaints Council (#IPCC) expressed his concerns over the neutrality of the IPCC and the fact that the commision only used police accounts, making it impossible to remain neutral and maintain its status as a police watchdog

He also critized the police's inability to deescalate and contain situations, citing examples of the firing of tear gas into peaceful crowds, almost causing a stampede, the police failing to respond on 721, and how a civilian was brutalized by a group of 15 blue ribbions outside LegCo where 100 riot police were stationed that day.

He concluded that the IPCC's incompetence and disproportionate criticism of protestors along with the polices inability to respond in press conferences has caused people to perceive the police in a negative light, resulting in the police themselves being one of the main reasons of the escalation of violence in the protests.

Source: Nathan Law's Official Facebook Page

#CliffordStott

IPCC offered an ‘explanation’ for police’s failure of arresting the white-clad gang on 7.21, but it became an irony when we look at the mass arrests of civilians in numerous other occasions

#IPCC #YuenLong721

#Newspaper

China's newspaper People’s Daily sings praises for IPCC report, saying it removes all injustice against Hong Kong police

(16 May) After 10 months of “investigation”, the Hong Kong Independent Police Complains Council (IPCC) released the overview for the anti-extradition law amendment bill (ELAB) protests yesterday (May 16th, 2020). People’s Daily, China’s official press, stated that the report “addressed every possible problem with equal importance”; “through strict scientific investigations, all possible suspicions of the police force are raised”. The article, which was accompanied by a picture with two police officers with the captions “PROTECTOR” and “30,000 FOR 7 MILLION” on it, also stated that the IPCC report “used plenty of evidence to show that police are the true guardians of Hong Kong since the start of the anti-ELAB incidents”.

However, what IPCC announced yesterday was a “thematic study report” instead of an “investigation report”. Anthony Neoh, chairman of the IPCC, highlighted that the IPCC does not have powers for investigation, and the report was based on what the police force claimed. Meanwhile, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong chief executive, strongly rejected establishing an independent investigation council again yesterday.

People’s Daily’s article, “Who are the true guardians of Hong Kong?”, says that the IPCC “investigation report”, using many facts and statistics, recovered the “6 major truths” of the anti-ELAB crisis, including the “police-triad collusion” on 21 July, 2019 and “police murdering innocents in Prince Edward station” on 31 August, 2019 and proved that these “incidents” were all rumors. “Such ‘investigation’ cleansed all doubts and injustice against the Hong Kong police and showed that the police force are the true guardians of Hong Kong with plenty of evidence”, the article says.
The article suggested that aggressive Hong Kong protesters “has threatened the government with violence by vandalizing infrastructures, paralyzing public order and discretely injuring individuals”; such actions “have turned Hong Kong into a city of darkness and fear, which could be compared to the damage of World War II”. “If the police force did not intervene (with their actions), it would be impossible to think how much damage these rioters would cause to ‘the Pearl of the East’”. “In the course of the police force restoring justice, ‘rioting forces’ have tried to tarnish the police reputation to make way for their violent behaviors by manipulating public opinions”.

The report also sings praises for the IPCC report, saying that the report “does not attempt to dodge or undermine the importance of every problem; through strict scientific investigations, it justified the legality and validity of the police force”. “Although there are some flaws in the police forces’ actions”, the report says, “the police force does adhere to regulations in their actions; such minor problems should not be exaggerated by the opposition to harm the police force’s image”.

Source: Stand News

#IPCC #antiELAB #PoliceBrutality #721Incident #831Incident #ChinesePropaganda #independentinvestigation

#PoliceState #DistrictCouncil
Government Representative Stops the Review of Police Report in Yuen Long District Council

Photo: ⬆️

The Yuen Long District Council (DC) called for its 3rd special meeting today to discuss an IPCC report on police brutality and the execution of group gathering ban. There were no police representatives and pro-establishment lawmakers present at the meeting.

Staff from the DC Secretariat left the meeting when discussion began on the IPCC report, and turned off the microphone in the meeting room as lawmakers continued their discussion.

A Yuen Long District Officer suggested that since the government’s stance towards these two issues is markedly different from the DC, the agenda should not be included in the DC meeting.

Yuen Long DC Vice Chairman Mak Ip-sing proposed writing a complaint letter to the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) for their absence.

Another Yuen Long District Officer previously wrote to the DC Chairman Wong Wai-yin, defending the HKPF’s action is applicable to all of Hong Kong and not just Yuen Long, therefore the two issues should not be included in the agenda.

Source: RTHK #Jun5
#HongKongPolice #IPCC

Court Rules HKPF Violates the Bill of Rights

During the anti-ELAB movement, the police was often spotted concealing their identification number, especially the Special Tactic Contingent (STC). The High Court combined 5 different cases regarding similar police actions, with plaintiff including figures like Mr Yeung, the teacher who is made blind by one eye by police action, citizens suffering police brutality and the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA) which members, journalists, are always being assaulted by the police during their interviews.

High Court Justice Mr Anderson Chow Ka-Ming, SC, ruled that the police not displaying their identification violated the Hong Kong Bill of Rights and criticised Independent Police Complaint Council (IPCC) and police Complaints and Internal Investigations Branch （C&IIB) for their inability to handle complaints against the police.

Source: Apple Daily #Nov19

#HKPolice #HumanRights #IPCC

https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20201119/IHDENEE6S5GT5LLMCFJ6XRE4RQ/

#AsiasFinest
Int'l Scholar Reveals HK Police Illegitimacy

In November 2020, Clifford Stott, a professor of social psychology at Keele University, co-authored an article titled "Patterns of ‘Disorder’ During the 2019 Protests in Hong Kong: Policing, Social Identity, Intergroup Dynamics, and Radicalization" in an academic journal published by Oxford University Press (https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paaa073).

The article examines police illegitimacy in Hong Kong and describes the police reaction to protests as "paramilitary-style police interventions".

Stott was once hired as an international expert at the Hong Kong's Independent Police Complaints Council (#IPCC), which runs a complaint mechanism chaired by former or current police officers.

Stott resigned together with other panel members in December 2019, stating that the IPCC did not have the independent power and investigative capacity to look into police brutality cases and handle police misconduct.

Source: Apple Daily #Nov18
https://bit.ly/35FlqeL

#AsiasFinest #PoliceState
Hong Kong's #IPCC Dismisses #Court's Ruling of the Police Complaint Mechanism as Failure

Source: RTHK #Dec15
Image: Time Magazine; Getty Images

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#AsiasFinest #PoliceState
Hong Kong's #IPCC Dismisses #Court's Ruling of the Police Complaint Mechanism as Failure

From January to November 2020, there wer 1,055 complaints in Hong Kong which were 31% less that the figure of the same period last year.

Earlier, the Hong Kong court rules that the current police complaint mechanism in use fails to provide independent investigation, breaching the “Bill of Rights”.

However, Anthony Neoh, Chairman of Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC), claimed the court decision would not affect their work and IPCC did not have any authority requesting the government to improve the system of police complaints. However, he thought that the police complaint system shall be further discussed in society.

Source: RTHK #Dec15
Image: Time Magazine; Getty Images

#AsiasFinest #TaxpayersMoney
Hong Kong Police Force Purchase 4k Camcorders to Improve the Quality of "Evidence"

At a meeting held by the Independent Police Complaints Council (#IPCC) on Dec 15, 2020, the Hong Kong Police Force indicated that since Oct 1, 2020 uniformed officers have been carrying high definition camcorders when they are on duty. The aim is to "prevent malicious and inaccurate accusations" and to "enhance the quality of evidence when required by the court".

Multiple members of the Council supported the Police’s idea, and requested them to make recordings at all times when on duty.

Stephen Yu, Senior Superintendent of the Support Branch, said the Hong Kong Police Force now own 10,000 camcorders. The second generation camcorders they purchased after 2018 are 1080p cameras that do not require the installation of an external memory card and support low light shooting.

Yu said, unless being requested to keep as evidence in court, videos are otherwise deleted after 31 days. “We don’t just keep them in a server, we have another system to maintain the records”.

After being questioned by a committee member whether the “other system” stood for an independent cloud service managed by the police, Yu added “The videos are copied to CDs”.

Source: InMedia HK #Dec17
https://bit.ly/37lGAj3

#MassSurveillance #BigData #HongKongPolice #PoliceState

#FailedState
International Policing Expert: HK Police Commissioner Refused Advice, Complaints Council Excludes Protester Interviews from Report

British policing expert Professor #CliffordStott, who withdrew from the panel of international experts reviewing Hong Kong police conduct during the 2019 Anti-ELAB protests, had since published his own investigative report.

During a video conference on Jan 16, 2021 with Hong Kong Democratic Party's International Affairs committee, Stott recalled the panel's meeting with Hong Kong police commissioner #ChrisTang. He noted that Tang was indifferent to the reason why citizens were protesting, and refused to listen to the council's suggestions.

Stott also mentioned that when he was in Hong Kong as a member of the Independent Police Complaints Council (#IPCC), he interviewed protesters and the lawyers who assisted them. However, the council was unwilling to include these interviews in its findings; this was illustrative of the biased nature of the report.

The panel of international experts was dismayed that the IPCC lacked the power to investigate the police force, and had planned to hold a press conference before leaving the city in order to voice their concerns. However, certain unnamed persons criticized their press release, even demanding them to not publish their views.

Commissioner Tang Hogged the Mic with a 45-Minute Speech

Clifford Stott is the Dean of research at the social psychology department of Britain's Keele University, and his research specializes in the issues and policies of policing unrest and public order. He emphasized the necessity of understanding the underlying reasons behind any riots or public unrest.

Taking an example from Hong Kong's 2019 Anti-ELAB protests, he noted that the nature of the movement has changed since protesters broke into the Legislature on July 1, 2019. The peaceful marches since then often ended in clashes, and violent fighting had become more common. He believes that the police must understand why protesters are taking to the streets before they could solve the problem at its root. Furthermore, they must step out of their preconceptions as authority figures before they can accurately analyze the protesters' actions, and arrive at conclusions that reflect reality.

However, when Stott and the IPCC met with the Commissioner of Police Chris Tang, Tang first lectured them for 45 minutes.

The professor was not impressed at Tang's unwillingness to interact with the IPCC, commenting that "it is not really a discussion".

"No Desire" to Reconcile with the Public

During break time, Stott approached Tang to raise his concerns, urging the police to face the cause of the protests and understand what citizens were demanding. His advice fell on deaf ears, however. Stott said that the police made it obvious that they did not welcome advice, had completely rejected their suggestions, and had "no desire to step back into the relationship" with the public.

As for the IPCC report, Stott criticized that it only made moral judgments on the conduct of protesters, but did not analyze the root cause of the movement, nor did it give the same attention to the conduct of the police. It also left out his interviews of protesters and their lawyers. Such a report, Stott concluded, could only give a partial and biased representation of the reality of the Hong Kong protests.

Source: Apple Daily #Jan17
https://bit.ly/3nNirad

#AsiasFinest #PoliceState

#NeverForget
"Tracing the Source" - 7.21 Yuen Long Attack Investigative Report by Stand News

Days ahead of the 2-year anniversary of the 7.21 Yuen Long Attack, Stand News published a video report investigating the allegations from the pro-Beijing camp that the conflict was initiated by pro-democracy protesters.

English captions have been added by Real Hong Kong News. Watch the video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gch5ikVyI80

The report found that pro-Beijing groups and Hong Kong police, and the #IPCC all cited a poster calling for a protest in Yuen Long on 7.21, during the height of the 2019 anti-ELAB protests.

Notably, the IPCC's special investigation report was quoted in the court case of 7 pro-Beijing men charged for rioting on 7.21, the only alleged white-shirt attackers who have been charged to date.

However, HKU research found that the poster had first gone viral on Chinese social media platform #Weibo and other pro-Beijing groups, instead of the #LIHKG forum frequented by pro-democracy protesters.

When the poster later reached LIHKG, it was mostly met with skepticism; eventually being treated by commentators as fake information.

Pro-Beijing groups, however, had used the poster to stir up fears of "rioters" coming to Yuen Long, even calling on people to bring canes and water pipes to repel the presumed "invaders".

During the evening of 7.21 when the incensed mobs struck indiscriminately at civilians, multiple pro-Beijing figures were seen on the streets with the white-shirts. Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho was also filmed encouraging and shaking hands with white-shirts.

Patrolling police officers were seen walking away from the sites where civilians were attacked.

Footage also showed Pak Heung Division Commander Li Hon-man mingling and thanking white-shirts who scuffled with pro-democracy citizens during the week leading up to the attack.

These, as well as other reports from that evening, contributed to public discontent and suspicion that the police force is colluding with the Triads.

Since then, Pro-Beijing groups have distanced themselves with the events of the night, and clung to the narrative that they were defending their homes from supposed incursion by the black shirts. When Stand News approached several leaders who had been identified in the night's footage, many declined to comment, or simply cut off the interview.

Some victims of the attack had sued the police force for reparations to cover the costs of surgery and long-term medications to treat their injuries; however, the Department of Justice called their claims "unreasonable". They had since withdrawn their case, since their lawyer - pro-democracy legislator Albert Ho - is now in jail, leaving them feeling helpless and deprived of justice.

Source: Stand News
Caption Translation: Real Hong Kong News

#YuenLong721 #StandNews #Documentation #Report

#PoliceState
IPCC Said Nothing Wrong with Hong Kong Police Shooting Journist without Warning during #PolyUSiege

During the Anti-ELAB movement on November 18, 2019, pro-democracy protesters trapped in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU) attempted to break through the cordon line; however, the police outflanked them by splitting into 3 routes.

When a journalist from #StandNews was interviewing an arrestee, whose face was covered with blood, a sheriff from the Z4 Police Tactic Unit (#PTU) suddenly shot a #PepperBalls to the journalist's feet without warning.

Two years later, the Complaints Against Police Office (#CAPO) ruled that there was "nothing wrong" and the Independent Police Complaints Council (#IPCC) agreed with the classification.

CAPO replied in a letter regarding the case, claiming that police did not have a choice but to shoot the pepper balls and apply a minimum level of violence to disperse the crowd. The letter said that the aim was to "protect the police and the arrestees" and the reason was that "someone was non-stop chasing after the police" and "the police has asked people on site to leave, but they ignored".

There is a footnote in the letter, claiming that there is either a "misunderstanding," or "sufficient evidence showing the fairness and rationality of the actions carried out under #PoliceForceOrdinance."

Source: Stand News #Nov09
https://thestandnews.page.link/ZaikSY3mthxbyaVcA

#PoliceBrutality #PressFreedom #Journalist