HK police bans protest on safety grounds

Hong Kong Police Force on Thursday banned a Sunday mass rally on Hong Kong Island on public safety grounds, stressing the right and freedom of others to live a normal life must also be respected.

The rally, consisting of an assembly and a procession, was scheduled to start 2:30 pm Sunday, marching from the city's shopping district Causeway Bay to financial hub, Central.

The decision was made because over the past few months, relatively peaceful public events on weekends were often "hijacked by a small group of radical protesters" and turned violent in a short time, Chief Superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch Tse Chun-chung said in a news conference Thursday afternoon.

These radicals deviated from approved routes, destructed public property, and brutally attacked police officers with bricks and gasoline bombs, Tse said, adding that they blocked main roads and set fires on streets.

They also assaulted innocent passersby with different views, some even bullied small children, Tse said.

"We objected to these applications out of concerns about public safety, public order, and protection of rights and freedom of others," he said.

The police don't tolerate such acts, and will enforce the law professionally, bringing offenders to justice, Tse said.

The police on Wednesday also banned a public procession to be held in Tin Shui Wai in northwest Hong Kong on Saturday.

For every notification of public events, Tse said that police will conduct independent risk assessment and consider various factors, including proposed location, expected size of crowd and whether the organizer has the ability to manage them.

In a letter of objection to organizer, Civil Human Rights Front, on Thursday, police said the rally put several buildings along the proposed route at high risk, including several busy subway stations and government and police headquarters.

Based on what happened previously, police said it believes some participants may vandalize buildings and facilities and such acts would be beyond control of the organizer.

The organizers have filed appeals to the Appeal Board on Public Meetings and Processions. The board will conduct a hearing on Friday afternoon and make its decision.

Tse also clarified that the police have no intention to discredit journalists. There shouldn't be an adversarial relationship between journalists and police officers during chaotic protests, he said.

The response came after the Hong Kong Journalists Association and Hong Kong Press Photographers Association held a joint news conference criticizing police after the force questioned the presence of some "fake reporters" on the frontline, who use made-up identities to pose as reporters during demonstrations to obstruct police from performing duties.

Tse said the police always respect the job of "professional and real journalists" and that he believes they won't obstruct police operations.