Don't Be Blinded By Lies About Police: State Media

A mainland newspaper has urged Hong Kong people not to believe "the lies" about the city's police, now that a report has "cleared the force's name".

The Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, said on Saturday that the report from the Independent Police Complaints Council has proven that the police are the true defenders of Hong Kong.

It said the report, which was released on Friday, has found out the truth about key events during Hong Kong's many months of protests and has cleared the police of any wrongdoing.

The paper said radical protesters had been using violence to threaten the SAR government into accepting their political demands, and there was no telling how far they would go if the police hadn't strictly enforced the law.

It noted that the report said the police have some room for improvement when it comes to details of their enforcement work, but said the opposition shouldn't use this as a reason to create rumours and "smear" the force.

The newspaper urged the Hong Kong public to see the situation clearly, and to "stop being blinded by lies".