Health Sector lawmaker Joseph Lee has hit out at the government's anti-mask law, saying it hasn't had the desired effect and it has given the police t...
Health Sector lawmaker Joseph Lee has hit out at the government's anti-mask law, saying it hasn't had the desired effect and it has given the police the opportunity to make indiscriminate arrests.
"Ironically, ever since the regulation came into force on October 5, so far in the past 6 weeks, it just allowed the police to legitimise their indiscriminate arrest of more young protesters, and to intimidate the press at the forefront without a sound reason," Lee said.
"On the contrary, what actually happened is that the anti-mask law has stirred up the sentiment of both the peaceful, rational and non-violent protesters, and the "fighter" groups as well. As a result, the outcome of invoking the ERO does not correspond with the regime's claimed deterrent effect. It only escalated a city-wide revulsion. The implementation of the anti-mask law is indeed a total failure."
Lee said that, what he called, "the regime of Carrie Lam" had made every attempt to condone police brutality in the name of “stopping the storm and restoring order”. He accused the Chief Executive's administration of allowing the excessive and disproportionate use of force on protesters, tolerating the torture and cruel treatment of detainees, depriving those arrested of their human rights, and acknowledging the shooting of the unarmed at close range without warning.
Lee also said the police had been overtly authorised to twist and distort truth, and to justify wrong-doings through victim blaming. He said, through the police, the government was "hegemonising brutality and generating chaos", instead of restoring peace and social order.
Lee said all this had taken its toll on healthcare professionals.
"We, health professional, are particularly heartbroken," he said.
"It is noted that police brutality has been extended to healthcare arenas. They intrude into hospital wards to search and arrest protesters without notifications. Hence, not only daily clinical operations are being interfered, patients' right and privacy are being undermined, and personal safety of healthcare staff are being threatened as well."
But Lee said people working in the health sector had to stay tough and vigilant, even though Hong Kong was now traumatised.
RTHK
