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Video of Apparent Beating of Protester in Hong Kong Stirs Anger Hong Kong Melee Fuels Public Outcry
(about 2 hours later)
HONG KONG — In a video that quickly transfixed and outraged many in Hong Kong and beyond, a group of police officers appeared to take a pro-democracy demonstrator into a dark corner early Wednesday morning and kick him repeatedly while his hands were bound. HONG KONG — Images of a Hong Kong democracy advocate apparently beaten by a group of police officers opened a new political fault line in the city on Wednesday, adding to volatile tensions pitting protesters who have occupied major roadways for weeks against the beleaguered government.
The Civic Party, one of the main pro-democracy political parties in Hong Kong, identified the man as Ken Tsang, a party member and volunteer social worker who specializes in helping street children. Dennis Kwok, a Civic Party lawmaker and barrister, said that he was representing Mr. Tsang and that his client had been taken to Ruttonjee Hospital for a full examination because he feared that he had suffered internal injuries. The video appearing to show the advocate, Ken Tsang, kicked and beaten by the police in a predawn melee, as well as later pictures of his bruised body, became an emotion-laden focus for critics of the government after a night of mayhem near the city’s heart. The images gave a vivid personal face to accusations that pro-democracy demonstrators have been targeted by an overzealous police force.
Mr. Kwok said that the police had also “slapped around” Mr. Tsang, and that at some point Mr. Tsang had been struck repeatedly with an object, possibly a police baton. “He has severe bruises to his face, and he has also been kicked in the back and in the stomach,” Mr. Kwok said. Dennis Kwok, a lawyer and Civic Party member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, said that the police had also “slapped around” Mr. Tsang, and that the initial results of a hospital examination showed that Mr. Tsang had circular marks on his back and stomach consistent with having been struck by the end of a police baton. The results of a full scan for internal bleeding were not yet available, Mr. Kwok said on Wednesday evening, while adding that Mr. Tsang expected to be discharged from the hospital on Thursday and to hold a news conference then.
A team of a dozen pro-democracy lawyers has met with “10 or 15” of the 45 people arrested by the police during the pre-dawn demonstration, and “five or six” of those who had spoken with lawyers also complained of having been slapped or punched. While some of these additional demonstrators have also requested full medical exams at hospitals, none initially appears to have been injured to the same extent as Mr. Tsang, Mr. Kwok said. Ronny Tong, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council for the pro-democracy Civic Party, said, “I thought a situation like this would only be seen in foreign countries, other societies — I didn’t expect to see it in Hong Kong.”
The video of the apparent beating and pictures of Mr. Tsang’s bruised body have become a rallying point for critics of the government, and they could help energize the protest movement after a night of chaos and setbacks. The images have given a vivid personal face to an accusation that the protesters often make — that the government and its police force use unfair force against peaceful protesters. Organizers of the street demonstrations that have occupied parts of Hong Kong for over two weeks called for a show of popular strength and support for Mr. Tsang on Wednesday night at the main protest site in the Admiralty neighborhood. Some protesters gathered near the Hong Kong Police Headquarters for a smaller demonstration over the beating.
The Hong Kong Police issued a statement late Wednesday morning about the incident. “Police express concern over the video clip showing several plainclothes officers who are suspected of using excessive force this morning,” the statement said. “Police have already taken immediate actions and will conduct investigation impartially. The Complaints Against Police Office has already received a relevant complaint and will handle it in accordance with the established procedures in a just and impartial manner.” “They haven’t faced the facts,” said Alvin Kwok, 27, a special-education instructor, who was at that smaller protest. “The police beating is totally inappropriate, and today the feedback from the government — it’s nothing.”
In a subsequent, broader statement that did not address the alleged beating directly, the police said that some unidentified protesters had “behaved in a disorderly manner including throwing objects from height, throwing traffic cones, placing objects such as drainage covers” on the road and trying to snatch steel police barriers. Four police officers were injured, including one who was said to have been pushed to the ground by protesters and suffered a dislocated right shoulder and another who was allegedly poked in the corner of an eye by a protester’s umbrella. But in responding to the uproar, the Hong Kong government and its supporters also focused on the dramatic nighttime scenes of demonstrators occupying and barricading a tunnel of a major road near the city leader’s office. Mr. Tsang had been caught up in the predawn tumult when the police retook the tunnel and forced back the protesters at the site facing Victoria Harbor.
Hui Chun-tak, a spokesman for Hong Kong’s police, said the incident involved seven plainclothes officers, including two with the rank of inspector. They will be reassigned. No charges have been filed against the officers in question because the police have not yet had a chance to take a statement from the complainant, he said. Hui Chun-tak, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Police, told a news conference that the events involved seven plainclothes officers, including two with the rank of inspector. He said the authorities would “conduct an impartial and fair investigation.”
Mr. Hui declined to identify the police officers in question, declined to say why plainclothes police were involved in the operation, and didn’t identify their unit. The investigation into the incident has begun, Mr. Hui said. But by Mr. Hui’s account, the protesters who set up barriers on the road had behaved aggressively toward the police. Demonstrators pelted objects onto the road from a highway overpass, charged the police lines, kicked police officers and “hit them with umbrellas,” he said. One officer dislocated a shoulder when he was pushed to the ground by a protester, and another was injured in the corner of the eye with an umbrella, Mr. Hui said.
“We are still gathering evidence,” Mr. Hui said. In an earlier statement, the Hong Kong Police also said that some unidentified protesters had “behaved in a disorderly manner including throwing objects from height, throwing traffic cones, placing objects such as drainage covers” on the road and trying to snatch steel police barriers. Four police officers were injured.
Audrey Eu, the chairwoman of the Civic Party and a former member of the legislature, said that the incident with Mr. Tsang had taken the party by surprise. “At the Civic Party, we’ve all known him for a long time, and we are all shocked,” she said. “He’s actually quite a gentle soul.” The city’s leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, has rejected the protesters’ demands for electoral reforms that would allow his successors to be chosen by an unfettered democratic ballot. Instead, Mr. Leung has defended the Chinese government’s position that Hong Kong must receive only limited electoral adjustments, which would still allow the Chinese Communist Party to choose who can contest a public vote for the city leadership.
On Wednesday, Mr. Leung said separately in brief remarks to reporters that the territory had well-established procedures for following complaints about the police and would follow them in the case of the apparent beating.
The treatment of Mr. Tsang had such intense political reverberations because it exemplified what the protesters see as the absence of publicly accountable political leadership in Hong Kong, said Steve Tsang, a professor of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham in England. Tsang is a common surname, and the two men are not related.
“This is exactly the kind of problem that people are worried about,” said Professor Tsang. “People are also very worried because Hong Kong’s chief executives have all failed.”
The Civic Party, one of the main pro-democracy political parties in Hong Kong, said the advocate, Mr. Tsang, was a party member and volunteer social worker who specializes in helping street children.
Mr. Kwok, the lawmaker , said that he was representing Mr. Tsang and that his client had been taken to Ruttonjee Hospital for a full examination because he feared that he had suffered internal injuries.
Mr. Kwok said that a team of a dozen pro-democracy lawyers had met with “10 or 15” of the 45 people arrested by the police during the predawn demonstration, and that “five or six” of those who had spoken with lawyers also complained of having been slapped or punched. While some of these additional demonstrators also requested full medical exams at hospitals, none initially appeared to have been injured to the same extent as Mr. Tsang, Mr. Kwok said.
Mr. Kwok said that his client had been accused of unlawful assembly and of obstructing a police officer in the course of the officer’s legal duties. Under Hong Kong law, Mr. Tsang must be brought before a magistrate or released within 48 hours.Mr. Kwok said that his client had been accused of unlawful assembly and of obstructing a police officer in the course of the officer’s legal duties. Under Hong Kong law, Mr. Tsang must be brought before a magistrate or released within 48 hours.
A video filmed by TVB, a usually pro-government television station, showed a bearded man in a black T-shirt being led away by officers in civilian clothes and black police vests, his hands behind him. The man in the video is virtually identical to Mr. Tsang’s Facebook picture. Ms. Eu and Mr. Kwok each said that Mr. Tsang’s hands had been bound behind him with a plastic tie, a common police procedure in Hong Kong. The video of the incident and pictures of Mr. Tsang’s bruised body have become a rallying point for critics of the government, and they could help energize the protest movement after a night of chaos and setbacks.
The Hong Kong Police issued a statement Wednesday morning about the alleged beating: “Police express concern over the video clip showing several plainclothes officers who are suspected of using excessive force this morning,” the statement said. “Police have already taken immediate actions and will conduct investigation impartially. The Complaints Against Police Office has already received a relevant complaint and will handle it in accordance with the established procedures in a just and impartial manner.”
Audrey Eu, the chairwoman of the Civic Party and a former legislator, said that the incident involving Mr. Tsang had taken the party by surprise.
“At the Civic Party, we’ve all known him for a long time, and we are all shocked,” she said. “He’s actually quite a gentle soul.”
A video filmed by TVB, a usually pro-government television station, showed a bearded man in a black T-shirt being led away by officers in civilian clothes and black police vests, his hands behind him.
The man in the video is virtually identical to Mr. Tsang’s Facebook picture. Ms. Eu and Mr. Kwok each said that Mr. Tsang’s hands had been bound behind him with a plastic tie, a common police procedure in Hong Kong.
The video then jumps to a scene in which a man lying on the ground in a somewhat dark corner is kicked and hit many times by several police officers. TVB said the beating lasted about four minutes.The video then jumps to a scene in which a man lying on the ground in a somewhat dark corner is kicked and hit many times by several police officers. TVB said the beating lasted about four minutes.
In an incident early in the demonstration that was also captured on local television, a man in a black T-shirt and wearing a surgical mask and goggles as protection against tear gas or pepper spray was seen standing on a high wall and throwing a stream of water from a bottle onto officers below. Two other demonstrators then grab the individual who was throwing the water and prevent him from throwing any more, and appear to have an argument with him. In an incident early in the demonstration that was also captured on local television, a man in a black T-shirt and wearing a surgical mask and goggles as protection against tear gas or pepper spray is seen standing on a high wall and throwing a stream of water from a bottle onto officers below. Two other demonstrators then grab the individual who was throwing the water and prevent him from throwing any more, and appear to have an argument with him.
The black T-shirt in the water-throwing incident is identical, with the same slogan on the front, to the T-shirt in the alleged police beating. Now TV, another local television station, reported that Mr. Tsang was the individual who threw the water. Mr. Kwok said that he did not know if this was true. The black T-shirt in the water-throwing incident is identical, with the same slogan on the front, to the T-shirt in the alleged police beating.
Now TV, another local television station, reported that Mr. Tsang was the individual who threw the water. Mr. Kwok said that he did not know if this was true.
Pro-democracy demonstrators, who have camped on main roads seeking fully open elections, quickly distributed the video of the alleged police beating and said they were furious about it. “It’s totally uncontrolled — they are no longer our police,” said Anthony Ho, a 54-year-old Internet technician, as he sat at a protest site in the Mong Kok neighborhood.Pro-democracy demonstrators, who have camped on main roads seeking fully open elections, quickly distributed the video of the alleged police beating and said they were furious about it. “It’s totally uncontrolled — they are no longer our police,” said Anthony Ho, a 54-year-old Internet technician, as he sat at a protest site in the Mong Kok neighborhood.
Political parties in Hong Kong have elaborate screening procedures before allowing someone to become a full member, to avoid being infiltrated by people who might either inform on their plans or might carry out activities that might discredit the party. The Civic Party has only “a few hundred” full members, Ms. Eu said, and Mr. Tsang is one of them. Political parties in Hong Kong have elaborate screening procedures before allowing someone to become a full member, to avoid being infiltrated by people who might either inform on their plans or carry out activities that could discredit the party. The Civic Party has only “a few hundred” full members, Ms. Eu said, and Mr. Tsang is one of them.
The incident drew strong denunciations from other pro-democracy lawmakers. “The police should arrest the torture officers immediately,” James To, a Democratic Party legislator and a lawyer, said at a news conference on Wednesday morning. “It’s a very clear case of serious assault, if not a torture act, so the police should immediately arrest the offenders.”The incident drew strong denunciations from other pro-democracy lawmakers. “The police should arrest the torture officers immediately,” James To, a Democratic Party legislator and a lawyer, said at a news conference on Wednesday morning. “It’s a very clear case of serious assault, if not a torture act, so the police should immediately arrest the offenders.”
The Hong Kong Police have had a highly professional image that dates from the territory’s days as a British colony until its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. The 28,000-strong police force still has about 100 British-born officers.The Hong Kong Police have had a highly professional image that dates from the territory’s days as a British colony until its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. The 28,000-strong police force still has about 100 British-born officers.
In the last year, however, Beijing has sent growing numbers of its own security officials to work closely with the local police, partly in preparation for dealing with democracy demonstrations like the ones that have nearly paralyzed large areas of this city’s core for more than two weeks. Mainland security officials have a reputation for much rougher tactics, but there was no evidence immediately available on Wednesday morning that they were directly involved in the incident captured on the video. In the last year, however, Beijing has sent growing numbers of its own security officials to work closely with the local police, partly in preparation for dealing with democracy demonstrations like the ones that have nearly paralyzed large areas of this city’s core.
A Chinese national government official commended on Wednesday afternoon the overall work of the Hong Kong Police while steering clear of passing judgment on the officers involved in the alleged beating. “I believe that the Hong Kong authorities will appropriately deal with this situation,” said the official, who insisted on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue and because the central government tries to accord a high level of autonomy to Hong Kong. Mainland security officials have a reputation for much rougher tactics, but there was no evidence immediately available on Wednesday morning that they were directly involved in the alleged beating captured on the video.
Through the protests in recent weeks, the official added, “the police authorities of Hong Kong have demonstrated the highest level of tolerance, have always been trying to take a moderate rather than radical approach to deal with the situation.” The pressure on the Hong Kong government has grown after the Chinese government on Tuesday made its highest-level denunciation yet of the protesters, and accused them of pursuing a conspiracy, or “color revolution,” to challenge Beijing’s power over the city.
Ronny Tong, a Civic Party legislator, said, “I thought a situation like this would only be seen in foreign countries, other societies — I didn’t expect to see it in Hong Kong.” Zhang Xiaoming, the head of the central Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, suggested that the protests were orchestrated by Occupy Central, a group that had earlier threatened to stage peaceful protests in Hong Kong’s financial district, Central, to demand democratic elections for the city’s leader.