Seven police officers who physically assaulted participants in the Hong Kong Occupy Central movement were charged with physical assault and sentenced to two years in prison. When China’s official media expressed sympathy for the jailed officers, Internet comments responded directly, “Don’t people know that Hong Kong is still a democratic and free society that is not under communist rule? You are using a brain that has been brainwashed. How can you understand (what the truth is)?”
BBC carried an article which reported on the February 17 decision when seven Hong Kong police officers who were charged with the physical assault of a demonstrator during the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong in 2014 were sentenced to two years in prison without probation due to the serious nature of their actions. The article stated that Zhen Jianchao, the defendant, told Hong Kong media after the trial that the verdict was a small victory for civilians who opposed the physical violence that the police force used. He wished that the Hong Kong government and police department could reflect on themselves and make changes to the police culture and the existing regulatory system.
In response to the verdict, Chinese media Sohu published an article titled, “Police Officers Sentenced to Prison; Occupy Central Participants are Happy but what is Hong Kong’s future?” The article stated that, “Occupy Central was a large scale illegal movement; Hong Kong police endured verbal abuse, physical assault, umbrella attacks, and demonstrators spilling urine on them. They fought hard for the Hong Kong people. The result was that the demonstrators of Occupy Central received light sentences but the police officers were put in jail and their future is ruined. What kind of logic is this?”
On February 19, Epoch Times, an overseas Chinese media, carried an article discussing how the Chinese official media posted articles on social media expressing sympathy for the jailed police officers. The article also quoted comments from the Internet. Below are some of the quoted comments:
“Did the police who allowed tanks to enter even dare to make comments on the incident that took place in a free territory that was founded based on a system of democracy and justice? I am totally drunk.”
“Police officers also used tear gas and rubber bullet on the demonstrators. No one was better off. Most of the demonstrators were peaceful and followed orders. It is too early to judge who is right and wrong.”
“Don’t people know that Hong Kong is still a democratic and free society that is not under communist rule? You are using a brain that has been brainwashed. How can you understand (what the truth is)?”
Source: BBC, Sohu, Epoch Times, February 17, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-39000901
https://m.sohu.com/n/481038841/?wscrid=1137_5
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/17/2/19/n8826240.htm