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Hong Kong police ‘the world’s best’, says top Beijing official, as he hails national security law for crushing ‘colour revolution’ plot
- Director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office lauds city’s authorities for safeguarding national security
- Xia Baolong calls police ‘Hong Kong’s heroes’ at high-powered forum in Chinese capital
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Beijing’s top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs has lauded the city’s authorities for safeguarding national security in the past year and praised police as “the nation’s pride and Hong Kong’s heroes”.
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Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, was speaking at a high-powered forum on the national security law in Beijing on Friday.
Since the law was imposed on the city a year ago, top local officials have credited it with restoring peace and stability after the civil unrest that began in 2019.
But opposition figures and Western critics have accused authorities of creating an atmosphere of fear by using it to clamp down on dissent.
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Xia noted that since the law came into effect in June last year, Hong Kong law enforcement agencies had arrested 117 people on suspicion on related offences and prosecuted 64 of them.
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