London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

HK police deny deploying harsher tactics

Protester shot in Monday morning clash after city leader met Xi and Beijing stressed its power to give orders

Many people in Hong Kong are questioning what they call the “disproportionate use of lethal force” by police after a 21-year-old student protester was shot and left in a critical condition in hospital during a street battle in Eastern District on Monday.

Some said the shot protester could have been subdued by police with a baton or pepper spray, even though he dashed onto the road and tried to swat the gun away from an officer who was struggling to pin another man to the ground.

To many, the police seem to be deploying tougher tactics while rounding up radical demonstrators as the former British enclave hurtles into its 24th straight week of protests and clashes since June.

There have been rumors among local observers that Beijing, or the city’s government, gave tacit approval and “shoot-to-kill orders” using live ammunition to quell the unrest and that police in the front lines were given a free hand to draw their revolvers and fire live rounds at rioters when they deemed necessary.

Many reports claim that at least three rounds were fired during the rowdy incident on Monday morning. The Hong Kong police said in a statement issued at noon that one assailant charged at an officer who was holding his revolver and at that moment, the officer had to fire a shot to stop the man as he felt his life was threatened, a move in line with international standards. The statement added that the officer shot at the protester’s center mass.

“The use of force was undoubtedly lawful and reasonable,” said the statement.

Hong Kong papers including the Ming Pao Daily and South China Morning Post also cited sources refuting the police’s perceived escalated use of force was a result of an imperative from Beijing.

The papers quoted a law enforcement source as saying that there was “no correlation,” nor did the tougher tactics have anything to do with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s surprise meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week and her visit to Beijing to meet a deputy premier in charge of Beijing’s top taskforce on the city.

“The escalation of force is a response to the more violence used by protesters,” said the source.


Power to call the shots

Lam, the embattled Hong Kong leader, was assured of Beijing’s full trust and backing when summoned to meet Xi last Monday in Shanghai. However, Xi also highlighted the urgency to end the violence and to restore order in the special administrative region.

Another senior cadre overseeing the running of the city broke his silence and expounded on what could be Beijing’s latest gauge of the status quo.

Zhang Xiaoming, head of the Chinese State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, noted in a long-winded piece on implementing the resolution of the fourth plenum of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which concluded earlier this month, that the stalled enactment of a national security clause was breeding the violence and separatism engulfing the city.

Zhang was posted to Hong Kong as Beijing’s top envoy between 2012 and 2017, during which time he dealt with the city’s Umbrella Movement in 2014, calling for genuine universal suffrage.

Other than the hackneyed reiteration that the chief executive and principal officials in all branches of the government must be patriots, Zhang shed light on Beijing’s power to hand down directives to the city’s leader and depose key officials, as well as to declare a state of emergency in Hong Kong as stipulated in the Basic Law, the city’s constitutional document.

Under such an arrangement, Beijing could issue detailed orders and strategies to Lam on how to quell the unrest and even let uncooperative or incompetent officials within the government and police go, some observers say.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×