IPCC Knows HK Better Than Overseas Expert, Says CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that an overseas policing expert who has criticised a report into Hong Kong's months of protests has the right to express his views, but he can't possibly understand the situation as well as members of the city's Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC).

Clifford Stott, a British professor of social psychology who has advised governments around the world on policing matters, was on the IPCC's foreign expert panel studying the unrest, until all five members quit in December saying the watchdog needed more powers if the probe was to be meaningful.

After the IPCC on Friday released its report on the protests, Stott said it contained plenty of detail but would not placate "genuine public concerns", and what was needed was a "genuinely independent inquiry with powers to demand evidence that would verify police claims".

Stott also announced that the foreign experts would make use of the information in the IPCC report for their own analysis of Hong Kong's protest movement.

Before going into this week's Executive Council meeting, Lam was asked whether Stott's criticism undermines the credibility of the IPCC report, which she had described as comprehensive, objective and fair.

"Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech and everyone can have their own views," Lam replied.

"I believe he [Stott] only spent 10 days or a week in Hong Kong. His stay in Hong Kong was quite short compared to the year-long review of so much information by the IPCC. Therefore everyone can tell which side was able to obtain the truth and have a better understanding of Hong Kong," she said.

Lam also noted that the watchdog is made up of members with different backgrounds and areas of expertise, and said their objectiveness should be reliable.

The IPCC found there are no systemic problems within the police and defended the use of force against protesters.

Allegations of collusion between police and gang members over a vicious attack in Yuen Long on July 21 last year were dismissed, and the IPCC said officers had been smeared online in an attempt to impede them from maintaining law and order.

Stott said at the weekend that the overseas experts hope to publish their own findings on or before June 9.