"If they don't use violence, we don't use force." That is a senior Hong Kong police officer's response to accusations from outraged protesters that the authorities are using excessive force to quell demonstrations. Allegations of police brutality have fueled increasingly violent protests in the streets of this former British colony, prompting law enforcement to fire tear gas on an almost daily basis.
Protests were first sparked in June by widespread opposition to a now shelved extradition bill but have since expanded to include demands for full democracy amid escalating violence. Now, more than two months into the worst unrest this city has seen in decades, senior police officers invited a group of journalists to the towering police headquarters in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district. In the first face-to-face background briefing of its kind with reporters, commanders spoke at length, provided they not be named.
Protests were first sparked in June by widespread opposition to a now shelved extradition bill but have since expanded to include demands for full democracy amid escalating violence. Now, more than two months into the worst unrest this city has seen in decades, senior police officers invited a group of journalists to the towering police headquarters in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district. In the first face-to-face background briefing of its kind with reporters, commanders spoke at length, provided they not be named.
