The crisis has placed officers in the firing line of public anger as the city's leaders appear unable, or unwilling, to offer any political solution
But among those singled out for specific retribution include a small group of expatriates who were some of the commanding officers on the frontlines during clashes where tear gas and rubber bullets were fired. “They have been through an ordeal,” Chief Inspector Neil Taylor, chairman of the Overseas Inspectors’ Association, told“But it’s not just them. Their kids have been targeted at school by bullies; a wife was approached in a supermarket and abused. That cannot be pleasant for anybody.”
The last were recruited in 1994 when the force stopped hiring from overseas. They are expected to reach retirement age around 2028. “As the years have gone by, and China’s rise has been much more pronounced, the Hong Kong government became politicised in the years following the handover,” he said.Many of the force’s bomb disposal experts are expat officers and won glowing local headlines last year for defusing a series of World War II-era bombs that were unearthed during construction works.
“Other western police forces have used far more force during crowd-control operations,” one officer told AFP.Two other officers AFP spoke to mentioned recent rallies in France where anti-government “yellow vest” protesters say at least 23 people lost an eye, primarily from plastic bullets and baton rounds.
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