8 | Wednesday, June 30, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY COMMENTHK HKPF: Changing Festival vibe of the guard Grenville Cross says Raymond Siu is a highly experienced officer who can be trusted to do his best for Hong Kong

ince its enactment by the National People’s Congress a year ago, the National Security Law for Hong Kong has restored the city’s stability and enabled Grenville Cross people to resume their The author is a senior counsel, law profes- normal lives. It crucially provided the Hong sor and criminal justice analyst, and was KongS Police Force with the tools it needed previously the director of public prosecu- to combat the anti-China forces who tried tions of the Hong Kong SAR. to destroy the “one country, two systems” policy. Although the police force did incred- ible work in protecting the city, it initially ciate that the non-prosecution of those had to do this with one arm tied behind its involved in the worst of the turmoil is not a back, but no longer. serious option, even if the suspect is youth- On Friday, Raymond Siu Chak-yee was ful, impressionable, or has faced delayed appointed the eighth commissioner of proceedings. police since 1997, replacing Chris Tang Upon appointment, Siu fl agged up his Ping-keung, who became secretary for immediate concerns, emphasizing commu- security. Although Tang will be a hard act nity engagement. He explained how unhap- Hundreds of Chinese national flags and flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are displayed at Tsim Sha to follow, nobody should underestimate py he was over the way in which malign Tsui East on Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s celebration of the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China. EDMOND TANG his successor, who has wide experience in agents had poisoned police relations with / CHINA DAILY diˆ erent areas of policing, and whose delib- the public, a deliberate tactic on their part. erative qualities are underpinned by a quiet He made clear his abhorrence of “fake resolve. Indeed, it should not be forgotten news”, and condemned those “despicable” that, at the time Tang was appointed com- individuals who invented stories, such as missioner, Siu was also made deputy com- non-existent deaths at Prince Edward Sta- missioner (operations). This meant he was tion or imaginary torture at the San Uk 100 years of the Communist Party at Tang’s side when key decisions were tak- Ling detention center, in order to blacken en, and was responsible for their successful the force. With Tang’s help, the force will implementation. In some ways, therefore, hopefully soon have the tools it needs to Siu is something of a “continuity commis- combat those who make false allegations, of China, and Hong Kong’s role sioner”, and he will be no less robust than intended to undermine the righteous and Tang in defending Hong Kong. promote lawlessness. The situation, however, that Siu faces is Siu obviously recognizes that good police he Communist Party of Hong Kong’s economy was able to a far cry from that which confronted Tang relations with the public benefi t everybody, China turns 100 on Thursday. fl ourish from the 1950s onward. when he assumed oŒ ce on Nov 19, 2019. including the force. He has previously par- When the CPC was founded The decision by the central govern- The insurrection was then at its height, ticipated in the force’s promotional activi- a century ago, it had only 57 ment of the PRC, under the leadership with the protest movement and its armed ties, and he hopes that, through its profes- Tmembers. Today, it is the largest ruling of the CPC, to resume the exercise of sionalism, “the people can understand the sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, wing wreaking outrages on an almost daily party in world with nearly 100 million Zhou Bajun basis. Police morale was suˆ ering, and Hong Kong Police Force cares for society”. members. When the CPC was born in The author is a senior research fellow of 1997, proved its unshakable determina- everything the force did was condemned If trust exists, it also helps recruitment, 1921, China was in such terrible shape China Everbright Holdings. tion to protect the nation’s sovereignty, by hostile legislators and sections of the which has been problematic in recent that most people were struggling to unity and territorial integrity. It is a media, keen to weaken its capacity to main- times. It is, however, not just a question survive. A hundred years later, the Chi- Hong Kong has made a well-documented fact that Deng once of fi lling the vacancies, but of attracting told UK negotiators trying to prolong tain law and order. nese nation is strong and more pros- significant contribution to Within weeks, however, Tang skillfully people of the right caliber. In this regard, perous than ever. The CPC has led the British rule in Hong Kong that he turned things round. Through sheer force Siu will need to seek the early implemen- Chinese nation to stand on its own feet the reform and opening-up would not be another Li Hongzhang, of personality, coupled with grit and no- tation of the latest salary review for the and become richer and stronger than campaign and reaped tre- a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) mandarin nonsense tactics, he not only inspired the disciplined services, which recommends ever, adding the most glorious page to who signed many an unequal treaty. force, but got the very best out of his front- that a police constable’s starting pay Chinese history and one of the most mendous profit. ... Today, There is no doubt the central govern- line personnel. Many oŒ cers, of course, should be HK$26,190 ($3,370), rising to impressive chapters in the history of as the world is undergoing ment could have taken Hong Kong were in great peril at that time, facing not HK$38,365, while that of a sergeant should the world civilization. profound changes unseen back earlier, but instead Deng put only incessant petrol bombings and asso- be HK$38,365, rising to HK$55,080. In Hong Kong, some people think forward the groundbreaking system ciated violence, but also attacks on their Although the force has an establishment the CPC’s ties with the city were in a century, Hong Kong arrangement of “one country, two sys- families and homes. Although Tang boosted of 33,000, there are about 5,000 vacancies. tenuous for much of the past 100 years must speed up the integra- tems” for the smooth return of Hong morale, by making best use of existing laws, In the last fi nancial year, it reportedly met because Hong Kong was occupied by tion of its own develop- Kong to the motherland and the city’s devising fresh strategies, and explaining only about 40 percent of its hiring target the British Empire from Jan 26, 1841, lasting stability and prosperity. the force’s case to all and sundry, the police of 1,845 recruits, with only 754 applicants to June 30, 1997 — the city was sepa- ment into the overall de- In China, we sometimes call out people still lacked the tailor-made legislation they being successful, as compared to 874 rated from the motherland for over one velopment strategy of the who appear not to appreciate their good the previous year. With the insurrection fortune. Many people in Hong Kong required to successfully combat the subver- and a half centuries. As a result, bias country under the leader- sive activities that were then rampant. now over and the national security laws and prejudices against the CPC were were able to profi t during the Cold War This, however, all changed on June 30, in place, the force can undoubtedly be brewing in certain quarters in Hong ship of the CPC. People in from dealing with both sides without 2020, and, equipped with laws to tackle choosy, but manpower shortages always Kong. And some have held grudges Hong Kong can hold on to experiencing the hardships the mainland subversion, secession, terrorism and for- place strain on the existing oŒ cers. As a against the CPC to this day because did, but they never realized they had the eign interference, the police are now fully short-term expedient, some retired oŒ cers their families left for Hong Kong after their differences and even motherland to thank for their fortunes on top of the situation. Whereas some of are being allowed to extend their service the Kuomintang was defeated on the bias toward the central amid those harrowing times. the insurrectionists fl ed abroad or tried until aged 60, but a full complement must Chinese mainland, or fl ed the main- government but cannot Under the leadership of the CPC, to emigrate, many of those who remained remain the objective. After all, the force land to evade natural disasters. the Chinese people transformed the had the good sense to disband their opera- must be fully prepared for whatever chal- But such ill feelings cannot change stop Hong Kong from ad- national economy through the reform tions or even turn over a new leaf. Some, lenges that may emerge, some of which the fact that the CPC has been closely vancing with the mother- and opening-up policy since the late however, have simply gone to ground, and, may be totally unexpected. connected to Hong Kong for 100 years. land in the years to come. 1980s. Hong Kong has made a signifi - as Siu will know, they remain a danger, and During the insurrection, some Western The original aspirations of the cant contribution to the reform and could mobilize again at any time. Indeed, governments eagerly bought into the smear CPC included ending colonial rule by opening-up campaign and reaped tre- once the SAR government formulates the campaign which the protest movement foreign powers over Hong Kong and mendous profi t. national security proposals still required of mounted against the police force. In con- Macao. President Xi Jinping said in a a bright path of socialism with distinc- Since the 18th National Congress of it by the Basic Law (Art.23), their foreign sequence, their law enforcement agencies speech at an event celebrating the 20th tive Chinese features. Thanks to close the CPC in November 2012, the CPC backers could again give them the nod, and were instructed to scale back levels of anniversary of the Hong Kong Special to four decades of dedicated eˆ orts Central Committee leadership with the force cannot let its guard down. cooperation with Hong Kong, which left Administrative Region and inaugurat- since the launch of the reform and General Secretary Xi Jinping at its Although the National Security Law is the criminal fraternity in raptures. It will, ing the fi fth-term HKSAR government opening-up policy in the late 1970s, we core has guided the Chinese nation to not retroactive, the police force has been therefore, be necessary for Siu to see what in Hong Kong on July 1, 2017: “The have entered a new era in the develop- become richer and stronger. The coun- involved in investigating a series of cases can be done to repair the damage to law destiny of Hong Kong has always ment of the Chinese nation.” try announced a “complete victory” in arising after its enactment. As of June 23, enforcement, and check if any of those been intricately bound with that of After founding the People’s Republic February as the CPC-led campaign to there had been 110 arrests and 64 prosecu- places have yet seen the light. But, whether the motherland. After modern times, of China in 1949, the CPC waited for eradicate extreme poverty lifted the tions, with some of the 12 cases requiring they have or not, there will be many juris- with a weak China under corrupt and the right time to take Hong Kong back, last 98.99 million impoverished rural considerable investigation. Although these dictions who are not preoccupied with incompetent feudal rule, the Chinese because the leaders agreed it was in residents from material deprivation fi gures are certainly not great, they do at playing silly political games. Every eˆ ort, nation was plunged into deep suˆ er- the best interest of the Chinese nation, in the past eight years. This miracle least show that the force cannot be compla- therefore, should be made, by both Siu and ing. In the early 1840s, Britain sent an including Hong Kong compatriots, to marks a momentous advancement cent, and that, if “one country, two systems” Tang, to build upon, or forge, the neces- expeditionary force of a mere 10,000 hold oˆ resuming the exercise of sover- toward building a fully well-to-do soci- is to survive, it must remain vigilant. sary ties with those agencies that want to troops to invade China and got its eignty over the territory. The wait end- ety, and sets the nation on the march National security apart, Siu will also have uphold criminal justice and make the world way in forcing the Qing government, ed at the stroke of midnight on June toward the centennial goal of the great to oversee the outstanding cases arising out a safer place. which had an 800,000-strong army, 30, 1997. From declassifi ed documents rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. of the insurrection. As of April, the force Although Siu faces big challenges, he has to pay reparations and cede the island and memoirs of people involved in the Today, as the world is undergoing pro- had arrested a total of 10,260 suspects, of the inner strengths necessary to see him of Hong Kong to it. After the Opium decision-making process, we know the found changes unseen in a century, Hong whom approximately a quarter, or 2,608, through. By bringing his own distinctive War, China was repeatedly defeated reason why the CPC leaders, including Kong must speed up the integration of its have faced prosecution, with 750 being qualities to bear, he can build on Tang’s by countries which were far smaller in Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, decided own development into the overall devel- charged with rioting. These cases could, achievements, while also diversifying. All size and population. Kowloon and ‘New not to resume the exercise of sovereign- opment strategy of the country under the like those of “Occupy Central” in 2014, drag the signs are that he thinks for himself, Territories’ were forcibly taken away. ty over Hong Kong earlier. Hong Kong leadership of the CPC. People in Hong on for some time, which Siu will not wel- and knows what he wants to achieve. Being That page of Chinese history was one was a breach in the vicious encircle- Kong can hold on to their diˆ erences and come, given manpower shortages. He will, the police commissioner is never easy, but, of humiliation and sorrow. It was not ment of the PRC by hostile external even bias toward the central government however, realize better than anybody that in Siu, the force has a highly experienced until the Communist Party of China forces led by the United States; it could but cannot stop Hong Kong from advanc- individuals involved in the insurrection oŒ cer who can be trusted to do his best for led the Chinese people to victory in a provide precious help to the mother- ing with the motherland in the years to must, evidence permitting, be held fully to Hong Kong. dauntless and tenacious struggle for land during the Cold War. This proved come. account, no matter how long it may take. national independence and liberation crucial for the PRC to rebuild the In this, he will need to be supported by the The views do not necessarily refl ect those and founded New China that the Chi- nation on the ruins from vicious wars The views do not necessarily refl ect Department of Justice, which must appre- of China Daily. nese people truly stood up and blazed under the Kuomintang regime, while those of China Daily.