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HONG KONG – The 29-year-old police officer was approaching the 24th hour of his shift last month, standing with his unit between a crowd of protesters and the largest government building in Hong Kong, when the order was given: it was time to aggravate.
Edward agreed. He put on his gas mask while the police were preparing cans of tear gas.
The scathing clouds came quickly and quickly, accompanied by rubber bullets. The crowd is dispersed. The police rushed to the mask of young demonstrators, beating them with batons.
He did not want to follow those orders on June 12. It was not about him that he wanted to be.
Five years ago, Edward camped with other protesters in the streets of Hong Kong, calling for free elections. These demonstrations failed to achieve their goals but reinvigorated a generation of young militants frustrated by China's refusal to grant the semi-autonomous city complete democracy.
This time, Edward – who joined the force in 2015 due to relatively high salaries – became an officer on the frontline of nearly every major protest in the weeks of anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
"I did not think I would ever be in the action," said Edward, who wanted to be identified only by his first name because he was not allowed to speak to the media. "I understand the protesters. Really, I feel like I am one of them.
Formerly known as "Asia's Finest", the Hong Kong police was caught between a furious public – angered by the authorities' plan to allow extradition to mainland China – and the pro-Beijing Hong Kong government.
The police had to face intense criticism about her tactics, ranging from the use of tear gas and rubber bullets to the slowness with which she responded to emergency calls when An armed group attacked people returning from a protest Sunday night.
Senior officers now have to deal with a force that feels isolated and besieged, an increasingly hostile public towards the police, and younger officers like Edward who are shocked and saddened by the actions of strength and who do not want to do the job anymore.
Some are considering leaving the force and preparing for an escalation of violence in Hong Kong, according to officers and former officers and security experts.
"Human shields"
A rare demonstration of support for the force came Saturday when more than 100,000 people gathered to demand respect and praise from the police and sympathy for its handling of the political upheaval on the streets.
Dozens of parents of police officers wrote an open letter to Hong Kong President Carrie Lam and her government claiming they were "overwhelmed by feelings of fury and distress."
"[Police] must follow certain illogical orders of their superiors, go against common sense and put their lives in danger, "wrote the relatives.
At a meeting with police leaders, police badociations demanded tougher measures against protesters, including the use of water cannons and colored pepper spray for "Mark" the demonstrators on the front lines. They called for a new law banning demonstrators from covering their faces with masks.
"Police security should be the priority," they said in a summary of the meeting, the text of which was provided to the Washington Post.
[Attackers wielding Chinese flags bash Hong Kong protesters]
The calls and support came after police and protesters clashed on July 14 in a shopping center. Several officers, including one who was bitten off during a clash with a protester, were among nearly two dozen wounded people.
The riot police found themselves repeatedly submerged and defensive during two months of turmoil. Edward said that front-line officers like him have to work shifts from 24 to 36 hours, with little rest or tactical planning before demonstrations and no clear goals.
"Officers go crazy for long hours," he said. "There is a complete lack of training. We have never faced this kind of situation before.
In the meantime, Hong Kong leaders held few press conferences and no public meetings during the crisis. Officials largely avoided dealing with dissidents – leaving the police as the most visible public face of the government.
The government must "stop deploying police as human shields between the government and the general public," says the open letter from police relatives.
Hong Kong police refused to comment on the e-mail questions about officer morale and police tactics. A spokesman spoke about the press conferences held by police officers on the preparations for major events.
Operational failure
Pockets of support for the police, however, were quickly overshadowed by a new wave of police convictions after another night of chaos and violence on Sunday.
In anticipation of an anti-government march, the police took great precautions to barricade government buildings targeted by previous protests, including the police headquarters, the Legislative Council building and other offices. Thousands of additional officers have been deployed and the route of the march has been shortened.
Yet the protesters once again escaped the police. They headed west, beyond the government buildings and to the Beijing Liaison Office, which they vandalized and degraded, angering the Chinese authorities.
Throughout the protests, the police "were caught off guard," said Clement Lai, a former police officer for 22 years and former managing director, who now runs a private security firm. "Their opponents have already learned from their failures. They learned the tactics of the police, but the police lack imagination. "
While the riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters after a stalemate around the liaison office, another scene took place at a distance of twenty kilometers: hundreds of thugs in white shirts, brandishing sticks and batons, went down in the Yuen Long subway station to hit the demonstrators back the march. Not a single policeman was on site. The doors of the local police station were closed and the emergency lines were submerged.
Two policemen initially reacted to the crowd's violence in Yuen Long, but said the situation was too dangerous for them to enter without protective gear, Police Commissioner Stephen Lo said on Monday. Mr. Lo stated that the doors of the police station were closed for "security" reasons and explained that the police were overworked because they were attending the demonstration on the island of Hong Kong and could not react quickly.
[Why Hong Kong protesters rage on, even though they cannot win]
Both officers returned with reinforcements approximately 20 minutes later. At that time, 45 people had been injured, some seriously, and the crowd had retreated to a nearby village.
The riot police then entered the village but did not arrest anyone that night. An on-scene commander that night said he did not know if the police reacted to the incident later than planned because he "was not looking at [his] Photojournalists captured images of the riot police in full conversation with people who fit the description of the subway attackers, a contrast with police scenes showing anti-government protesters on the front lines during last weeks.
Six people were arrested Monday night for "illegal gathering" related to the violence in Yuen Long.
But some, including former members of police forces like Lai, say the reputation of the force has been bruised.
"It was absolutely a failure of public relations and an operational failure," he said. "We former police are also frustrated. It seems that 175 years of professionalism have just collapsed. "
Find a way out
An already dark environment for officers has darkened. Some are openly mocked on the street. Protesters left dog food in front of the police headquarters and badembly areas. Police officers whose aggressive actions were videotaped had their photos filtered through online forums and glued around the Hong Kong footbridges.
After Sunday's crowd violence, pictures and drawings revealed a love affair between the police and Yuen Long's attackers, suspected of having links to organized crime groups known as triads. .
[For China, a growing conundrum: What to do with Hong Kong?]
Edward does not mind memes. But he says he is very unhappy that his fellow officers have not been able to ensure the safety of Hong Kong and that they continue to launch aggressive customs clearance operations against the protesters.
He finds himself confronted with a painful internal issue. How can he continue to repress people with whom he sympathizes?
He remembers how he felt at the 2014 protests, known as the Umbrella Movement, and continues to think about what he did then: "It's everyone's responsibility to fight and to fight for a democratic society.
"The government has done nothing to solve the chaos in our society," he said. "I understand that citizens are angry and I am ready to face the negative feelings that I have to face as a police officer."
He plans to leave the force and says that other young officers also want to leave. Work or not, it will be given until mid-2020. After all, he says, he never wanted to be a policeman – he was aiming for fire department or immigration – but it was the highest paying job that he did. he could get to that moment. Edward has never studied at the university.
"I'm looking forward to not having to watch the protesters face to face," he said. "And I can become a part of them again."
Read more
Five lives in Hong Kong: Stories of foments, fears and struggles converging on the street
Why Hong Kong protesters rage when they can not win
Events in Hong Kong expand in terms of geography and goals
Today's coverage of Swiss Post correspondents around the world
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