Denies Being A 'Police Country', Police Commissioner: Hong Kong Society Of The Rule Of Law

Ilusi polisi Hong Kong. (Wikimedia Commons/Studio Incendo)

JAKARTA - Hong Kong has not become a 'police state', the city's top law enforcement official said, days after its officials banned the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Tragedy in Beijing, which was previously permitted there.

China's business hub is preparing for an upcoming change of leadership as well as the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain, which President Xi Jinping is widely expected to visit.

Speaking to local outlet HK01 about the increased security activity around the event, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee dismissed criticism that the police had become too strong.

"A police state is where the government forcibly controls various aspects of people's lives, with administrative measures and without going through legal procedures. Do people think Hong Kong is like that?" he said, citing CNA from AFP June 8.

"Hong Kong is a society of the rule of law, not a police state," he said.

His comments came after police arrested six people on Saturday, when authorities banned any attempt to publicly commemorate the 1999 Tiananmen tragedy in China.

Amnesty International accused authorities of "indiscriminate harassment and targeting" for the arrests.

Police said police closed the annual memorial to the Tiananmen Tragedy and packed the surrounding area, one of Hong Kong's busiest shopping districts, with officers.

People were stopped and searched for carrying flowers, wearing black and, in one case, carrying a toy tank box.

On Tuesday, authorities launched a "counter-terrorism reporting hotline" for residents to report "acts of violence, suspected terrorism-related activities, in particular extremist plots."

Since Beijing imposed the National Security Act on Hong Kong in 2020, after large and sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations, authorities have cracked down on dissent.