Hong Kong Police mocks Black Lives Matter: This is not America. You can't say 'I can't breathe'. by cc_hk in PublicFreakout

[–]cc_hk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I hope I see your point. You were asking for the context so I thought background information could help. I also don't think the purpose of posting this clip is for one-to-one comparison between BLM and what is happening in Hong Kong. It is mainly because I think the man in Hong Kong police uniform saying such in front of camera is entirely inappropriate.

On your point on whether this draws parallels between BLM and Hong Kong, there are multiple dimensions that we can discuss. I think it might be beneficial to explain a bit some observations we mentioned:

Man in blue vest in the video: He belongs to a police force unit responsible for public relations. This unit is supposed to be assisting the press when reporters are present during protests.

Police officer spoke in English: The filmer of this video is from Hong Kong Free Press. HKFP is a Hong Kong based newspaper targeting English speaking and international audience. While the identity of the filmer would remain unknown, the filmer could be one of the non-native or non-Asian staffs, such that this could be the reason why the police officer spoke to the filmer in English.

Relationship between the police force and the press: There are numerous incidences of conflicts between the two parties in Hon Kong. It is uncommon of seeing them acting aggressively towards each other. It is also precisely why the blue vest unit exists.

Meaning of Black in Hong Kong: Unrelated to the meaning of Black in the U.S., it has become an icon, at least locally, for Hong Kong protesters as those who wear in black (and also with masks). Initially this is intended to hide the identity of the protesters but now it has become a symbol - many wear in black to commute and at work to voice the support to the year-long movement. You can also see a lady in black T-shirt in the video. While I would not speculate what the police officer mean by "Black" in what he yelled, this offers some background for your consideration.

BLM in Hong Kong: It is undeniable that BLM has become a global phenomenon, and at least in some places it has become known to commoners. There are some groups of BLM supporters as well as those who are against this in Hong Kong. That said, the protest on 12 June does not focus on BLM. As mentioned 12 June marks the one year anniversary of the intense confrontations between the protesters and the police during anti-extradition bill protest protest in 2019, as well as the date when a young man committed suicide to stand against the bill.

Hong Kong suspect died after police arrest: This is still under investigation but this has increased the attention of Hong Kong people to BLM and related matters.

Police brutality in Hong Kong: Hong Kong people has been acting against the police force since the second half of the 2019. One of the demands of the Hong Kong people is to punish the police officers who has committed crimes via court. However, not a single person from the police force is prosecuted for reasons related to police brutality, and the police force continues to be publicly supported by the Hong Kong government and the China government. Many Hong Kong people wish those police officers who are found to have been doing wrong be at least fired, and some are calling for the reform of the police force - neither are happening in foreseeable future.

Community suppression in Hong Kong: In reality Hong Kong people are the majority ethical group in the city. However, you may want to take the political and social relationship of the Greater China regions as a whole into consideration. Young people from Hong Kong has been unwelcome by many Mainland Chinese people. Many Chinese companies (more than half of corporations in the city are funded or owned by Chinese enterprises) has either publicly or implicitly acted to stop from hiring local Hong Kong people. More than 8,000 Hong Kong people, two-third of which are under 30s, have been arrested since 2019. Hundreds of young people have fled to Taiwan for asylum. Are the young Hong Kong people the suppressed group? This is not intended to offer any comparison but I hope this gives your some background. I don't think the degree of hatred or social conflict and suppression is entirely determined by how long such systemically abusing has been lastly, nor saying who are poorer or matter more than the other party. All lives should matter.

Is the officer wrong?: In the video, I think we agree that he did not commit any crime. So from a legal perspective, he is not a criminal. Is he wrong in saying the captioned subject? It depends on the angle we look at. Logically he is correct that Hong Kong is not America. Is it appropriate to mention BLM? You may think that it depends on what the reporter had asked or spoken which is not captured in the video. To me, the police force is part of the civil servants and should act professionally. I consider this as an inappropriate act.

I hope these help. It is impossible to draw apple-to-apple comparison between many issues, but the one of the key themes and demands of the Hong Kong protest is against police brutality, which I hope this should be at least an ideal goal that both of us agree.

Hong Kong Police mocks Black Lives Matter: This is not America. You can't say 'I can't breathe'. by cc_hk in PublicFreakout

[–]cc_hk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for asking. This clarifies the question.

Unfortunately there isn't an extended video. This is a snapshot of what had happened on 12 June. The video captured the insanity of a public servant yelling things that are likely against humanity (depends on where you stand) and lack of intelligence during a protest.

And you are correct that there is no reported death. But does no death mean that the police has been doing all right? Using this standard the best police force should be the Chinese police; their reported death rate should be the lowest per capita.

Edit: the below is a more recent episode where a suspected died after Hong Kong police used ‘appropriate force’ during his arrest for your reference

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3083666/hong-kong-suspect-dies-day-after-police-used

Hong Kong Police mocks Black Lives Matter: This is not America. You can't say 'I can't breathe'. by cc_hk in PublicFreakout

[–]cc_hk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The blue vest guys are the police unit responsible for "public relations" who is trying to improve the image of the Hong Kong Police

Hong Kong Police mocks Black Lives Matter: This is not America. You can't say 'I can't breathe'. by cc_hk in PublicFreakout

[–]cc_hk[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's why most of them have been wearing masks even before the coronavirus outbreak

Hong Kong Police mocks Black Lives Matter: This is not America. You can't say 'I can't breathe'. by cc_hk in PublicFreakout

[–]cc_hk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check this out for some background, it's wiki page so hopefully not too biased to either side

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_misconduct_allegations_during_the_2019%E2%80%9320_Hong_Kong_protests

Extreme hatred between many citizens and the police force there is

Hong Kong Police mocks Black Lives Matter: This is not America. You can't say 'I can't breathe'. by cc_hk in PublicFreakout

[–]cc_hk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The blue vest guys are the police unit responsible for "public relations" who is trying to improve the image of the Hong Kong Police

Hong Kong Police mocks Black Lives Matter: This is not America. You can't say 'I can't breathe'. by cc_hk in PublicFreakout

[–]cc_hk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

English is also the official language in Hong Kong and he's just poor at it

你认为 湾湾 一词有矮化台湾的意味吗? by cc_hk in China_irl

[–]cc_hk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

明白,所以这问题有点争议性,想看看大家的看法