Pro-Beijing group Politihk Social Strategic has said it is looking into nominating the Hong Kong Police Force for a Nobel Peace Prize.
It comes days after Hongkongers were nominated by a Norwegian parliamentarian – a move dismissed as “foreign interference” by Beijing.
“So far the clashes in Hong Kong have not led to any deaths, which reflects the restraint and professionalism of the police,” the group’s chairman, Tang Tak-shing, told China’s state-run tabloid Global Times after the move was announced on the group’s Facebook page on Friday.
“We want to let the international community know through the nomination the actual situation in Hong Kong and the strong public support of the police force,” he said, adding that the force had acted humanely and professionally.
The group will reportedly ask Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress to file the application ahead of the deadline at the end of next January.
‘Reckless tactics’
Large-scale protests, sparked by an ill-fated bill which would have enabled extraditions to China, have engulfed the city since June. Over 3,000 rounds of tear gas, three live rounds and more than 600 rounds of rubber bullets have been fired by police during the summer.
The sometimes violent demonstrations have evolved into calls for democracy and a fully independent investigation into alleged police misconduct. Whilst scenes of vandalism, arson and vigilante violence have increased in recent weeks, so have calls for the police force to be completely disbanded.
Last month, a report from NGO Amnesty International said that the police have used reckless tactics and retaliatory violence in their crackdown on protesters during the summer, resulting in injuries such as broken bones and internal bleeding.
The report—based on 38 interviews of arrestees, medical workers and lawyers, as well as reviewed footage—detailed a “disturbing pattern” of improper police conduct during the city’s 15 weeks of protests – behaviour which Amnesty said sometimes amounted to torture.
On Sunday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam hinted in a TVB interview that the government may be considering ways to respond to demands for a fully independent probe into police behaviour. But she refused to say whether a commission of inquiry was an option, according to RTHK.
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