Opinion | Police and protesters need to make peace, to end the insanity of Hongkongers fighting Hongkongers
- From the maligned shotgun-wielding sergeant to descriptions of vandalism as violence, Western media exaggerations play directly into Beijing’s hands
- Continuing the violence will only erode global support for the protesters’ cause. Peaceful protests are the only way forward in a deeply divided Hong Kong
Remember the shotgun-waving police officer outside Kwai Chung police station, the one whose photo was all over global media with sensational headlines like, “Hong Kong police officer makes a grave safety error waving a shotgun in protesters’ faces”? This was supposed to be evidence that Hong Kong’s police were using excessive force. It was not.
About 20 seconds before the shotgun-pointing photos were taken, another photo shows Lau at the instant he was attacked from behind by at least four men, their faces obscured by identical light-blue surgical masks. The men do not exactly look like idealistic students. Lau’s helmet was on. One colleague, wearing a light-blue shirt under his riot gear, is coming to his assistance.
In the video of the fight, his white shirt stands out in the maelstrom of violence. Both police officers were fighting for their lives. Each time Lau goes down, into the maw of men beating, kicking and throwing things at him, he fights back to his feet. At least one of his attackers had a metal bar.
After his second fall, the violence of which spins him around 180 degrees, his helmet is ripped off. One or more men tries to grab his shotgun. He wrenches it back. As he stands, four men, directly to his right and behind him, step forward and hurl things at him and his partner. It is only at this moment that he lifts his gun, for the first time, and points it at one of them. All four flee. Only then does he slide back the forend – the “pump” – below the barrel to load it.
