This past weekend, as protesters and riot police fought in the glitzy surroundings of a Hong Kong mall, one officer made the mistake of getting separated from his colleagues as he viciously hit a young protester. A few minutes later, he tripped and ended up on the ground—only to be piled on by dozens of protesters, who took evident delight in beating him.
It was a sad sign of how hated a police force once praised as “Asia’s finest” has become. But it was also part of a legacy of police brutality, and subsequent violence from protesters, stretching back to the colonial era—and continued by the key role that British officers play in the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF).
