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Chinese State Media: For Police to Fire at Protesters Is both “Reasonable and Legal”

In response to the Hong Kong police shooting the demonstrators at close range on November 11, the Chinese official media posted articles condemning the demonstrators and stressing that for the Hong Kong police to shoot was both reasonable and legal and followed the international standard.

People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, commented on November 12 that, when facing demonstrators’ violent criminal actions, attempts to grab guns out of the policemen’s hands, and the acts that might pose a danger to public safety, “police officers have no choice but to fire their guns, which is reasonable and legitimate.”

The comment claimed that (the authorities) should not let the demonstrator’s arrogance develop into a habit, and should “manage” (take actions) to stop the riots and the violence. It supported what the “bold head sheriff” Liu Zeji (from Hong Kong) stated on his Weibo on November 12, “Don’t think the policemen will never fire their guns. (Firing them) is the international standard.”

The CCP’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee also claimed through its WeChat account “Chang’an Sword,” that shooting is the international standard. “When a mob attacks a policeman and tries to take his gun, if (the police officer) does not fire, what was the use of the gun and what was the use of there being a policeman?”

The Global Times published a commentary to encourage the Hong Kong police: “You are fighting on the front line, but you are not alone. You are not only behind the Hong Kong people who love Hong Kong, but also the people of the whole country. There are national armed police forces and troops stationed in Hong Kong . . .  the mobs can’t turn the sky.”

Sources: Lianhe Zaobao, November 13, 2019
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/special/report/politic/hkpol/story20191113-1004812?cx_testId=45&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=3#cxrecs_s