Police Vow To Protect Yuen Long Locals From Attack

The police say that despite banning a planned anti-violence protest in Yuen Long this Saturday, officers will still be out in force on the day to prevent any "attack on the locals".

The force told reporters at a press conference that it had received more than a thousand letters from Yuen Long residents and villagers urging it not to allow a demonstration over last Sunday's mob attacks on MTR passengers, and it would have been ignoring the public's wishes had it not banned the march.

Acting regional commander of New Territories North, Tsang Ching-fo, said there was a very good reason for the police objecting to the protest and that is because it would have posed a severe risk to public order.

He warned people not to try to stage a protest regardless, which would amount to an illegal assembly.

"In fact we are preparing for it anyway. But that will depend on the situation. There will be a deployment ... to prevent any sort of attack on the locals and there will possibly be deployment for general policing as well as the transport arrangements, to prevent any disturbance of the transport in the area," Tsang said.

Max Chung, who had unsuccessfully applied for a "letter of no objection" for the protest, said he for one would be making the procession in any case.

There have also been calls online for people to gather near the starting point for the proposed march to mark the death this week of former premier Li Peng, dubbed the "Butcher of Beijing" by critics for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Meanwhile, Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki said the ban on the protest sets a bad precedent being as it undermines people's right to hold demonstrations as set out in the Basic Law.

"This will send a message to the people of Hong Kong and perhaps to the world that we are going into the era of white terror," he said.

The police's response to Sunday night's vicious rampage by a gang of men all clad in white t-shirts has outraged many people, with the force admitting it took more than half an hour for it to send officers to the scene of the violence.

Supporters point out that the force has been stretched by the ongoing extradition bill protests, with clashes taking place in Sheung Wan at the time of the attacks in Yuen Long.