The Hong Kong police certainly appear to be applying more aggressive tactics to the crowds, although we have yet to see ball ammunition. I see a problem with the reputation in Hong Kong of the police as they reduce themselves to a bunch of third world thugs
It took many years, perhaps 25-30 to climb out from the “Best Asian police force money can buy” status of the 1970s to a level of trust that the man on the Mong Kok omnibus could turn to. And they did so, and the only people that feared them in the early years of the 21st century were the villains.
Something has changed. In the last 20 days the HKP organisation has shown themselves to be trigger happy and ill disciplined, using dis- proportionate force against crowds that should and could have been pacified and dispersed by the methods that the HKP themselves devised and deployed in the 1990s.
Example. The 31st December celebrations each year with around 2 million on the streets, and all the police wear flashing teddy bear badges on their lapels. They were trained in crowd control to encourage movement of large numbers in the required direction, crown nudging, which they did with exemplary skill and control. No head locks, no rattan beatings, and certainly no anti personnel ordinance. These crowd control techniques were emulated by other forces around the world.
And now? These police live alongside the ones they are beating the brick dust out of. They are known, they are someone’s brother or neighbour. They will be despised and vilified for turning up at a prayer meeting in riot gear and escalating the (originally) peaceful protests of the youth of Hong Kong. The HKP have lost the psychological war in the first battle.
It will take many years for the police reputation to be regained. They have now joined the ranks of the police of dictators and third world despots who police for the corrupt executive and not for the people.