Police crucial to rule of law

September 24, 2019

Chief Executive Carrie Lam:
When we are so proud of the rule of law in Hong Kong, it does include various important components, and enforcement by the enforcement agencies, particularly Police, is one of the very important elements to ensuring the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Over more than three months of confrontations, street protests and sometimes very blatant violence, I said previously that the force is under extreme pressure. So my support for the force is because it is an important law enforcement agency that helps us to safeguard the rule of law, but that does not mean that I would condone irregularities or wrong practices done by the police force. Otherwise there would not have to be all of these institutions like the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) and Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) to look into complaints about individual officers.

And on this occasion, because of the severity of the protests and the incidents, the IPCC has taken the initiative with my full support to undertake a thematic fact-finding study to assess several important incidents and to come up with recommendations.

(To watch the video with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Law enforcement by Police is an integral element to safeguarding the rule of law in Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said today.

Mrs Lam made the remarks ahead of this morning’s Executive Council meeting.

“When we are so proud of the rule of law in Hong Kong, it does include various important components, and enforcement by the enforcement agencies, particularly Police, is one of the very important elements to ensuring the rule of law in Hong Kong.”

She further explained that three months of confrontations, street protests and blatant violence have left police officers under extreme pressure.

“My support for the force is because it is an important law enforcement agency that helps us to safeguard the rule of law, but that does not mean that I would condone irregularities or wrong practices done by the police force.

“Otherwise there would not have to be all of these institutions like the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) and Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) to look into complaints about individual officers.”

Mrs Lam also noted that due to the severity of the protests, the IPCC has taken the initiative with her full support to undertake a fact-finding study to assess several important incidents and come up with recommendations.