HONG KONG (SE): The Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China issued a statement on August 12 condemning the excessive force used by the police in their operations to disperse and arrest protesters on August 11, which it believes shows a lack of concern for public safety.
 
The council expressed concern regarding specific actions by the police the day before, including using unnecessary violence on protesters who had been subdued; shooting a female protester in the eye with bean bag round which may lead permanent loss of sight in the eye; firing teargas at Kwai Fong MTR station where there were lots of passengers, including elderly people and children; beating protesters at the escalator of an exit of Taikoo Shing MTR station, leading to the fall of many passersby, nearly causing a stampede and shooting pepper balls at close range.
 
It pointed out that everyone is made in God’s image and should have their dignity respected. The council condemned the actions for showing no respect for the safety and dignity of people and urged the police to show restraint and enforce the law in fairly.
 
It also demanded that chief executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, to immediately set up an independent inquiry commission to look into the political unrest since June this year as well as the root causes so that the police do not need to face unnecessary pressure.