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Alex Lo

Hong Kong police have been heavily criticised for their recent anti-riot operations. But “crimes against humanity”? I hate to point out the obvious: not a single person has been killed so far.
I first heard of this ridiculous claim from influential online pundit Stephen Shiu Yeuk-yuen. But then, a group of anonymous civil servants have repeated the same charge. So it’s not a quirk, but a position shared by many in certain circles.
In an anonymous petition, more than 350 civil servants wrote they were “absolutely disgusted” by the force police used against protesters. “We have lost count of the number of ‘crimes against humanity’ Hong Kong police committed and we feel ashamed to call them colleagues,” they wrote.
First of all, such crimes are among the most heinous that a people, a group or a government can commit. Under international law, offenders can be tried at the International Criminal Court. If there had been such incidents, it’s imperative our fearless, if faceless, civil servants document them.
Why Hong Kong protesters view police as the enemy
Losing count? That’s not an excuse, unless, of course, there is nothing to count. Their petition cited criticisms from United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet. But what the UN body said was that police were not following “international norms and standards in their use of weapons” and therefore creating “a considerable risk of death or serious injury”. There was no mention of “crimes against humanity”.
Since they were quoting the UN, they should look up the website of the world body’s Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. There, they will find very detailed materials providing historical background to “crimes against humanity”, their definitions and applications under international law.




Such cases must involve: murder, extermination, enslavement, torture; deportation or forcible transfer of population; imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty; rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilisation, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity; persecution against any identifiable group on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender or other grounds; enforced disappearance of persons; the crime of apartheid.
They don’t sound like anything that’s happening in Hong Kong. What this whole farce signifies is the deep narcissism and ignorance of some Hong Kong people. Their claim of “crimes against humanity” against the police is shameful, because it belittles the profound suffering of real victims of that most serious of crimes.


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My Take

Crimes against humanity? Police not guilty

Riot police at the Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday, August 13. Photo: Felix Wong

Daughter of South Korean farmer who died of injuries from water cannon warns Hong Kong police the weapon is far from non-lethal

Police demonstrate a water cannon at the Police Tactical Unit compound in Fanling on Monday. Photo: Sam Tsang

baek.

Mourners pay tributes in front of a memorial altar for the late farmer activist Baek Nam-gi at the Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Dozens of activists are commemorating Baek who died in the hospital almost a year after being knocked unconscious by water cannons during protests against South Korea's government. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Police demonstrate a water cannon equipped vehicle at the compound of the Police Tactical Unit in Fanling. 12AUG19 SCMP/ Sam Tsang

View of the water cannon anti-riot vehicle at the PTU (Police Tactical Unit) Headquarters in Fanling. 12AUG19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

Malaysian youths supporting Hong Kong protests don’t know ‘right from wrong’, says Chinese diplomat in Malaysia

Minister-counsellor Chen Chen. Photo: Facebook

Bai Tian, Chinese ambassador to Malaysia. Photo: Facebook

A young protester at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 13. Photo: EPA-EFE

Opinion

Comment


To accuse Hong Kong officers of such heinous acts when facing protesters is shameful and belittles the profound suffering of real victims



Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

My Take | Crimes against humanity? Police not guilty

To accuse Hong Kong officers of such heinous acts when facing protesters is shameful and belittles the profound suffering of real victims