Rally Bans Only After Careful Assessment: Police

The police on Friday said they are not flatly denying permission for protest rallies, but taking such decisions after making careful assessments based on intelligence gathered.

The police have denied to permission for protest events planned in Tai Po and Wong Tai Sin on Saturday as well as Sham Shui Po and North Point on Sunday. A gathering at Victoria Park on Sunday has been approved, but not a march from there to North Point as protesters wanted.

A New Territories North superintendent, Vasco Williams, said officers look at each case carefully and make decisions according to a wide range of factors.

He said there is no plan to ban protests outright. "We look at every single application carefully on a case by case basis. we conduct advance risk assessments, with reference to the proposed route, location, size of the crowd and whether the organisers have the ability to exercise control," he said.

A Hong Kong Island senior superintendent, Ng Lok-chun, said the police have received intelligence that there are people planning to attack protesters in North Point this Sunday.

He said the force is confident they can handle the situation and it will keep assessing the risks.

Ng also denied they are stopping all protests and pointed out that they did approve a number of public events applications this week.

Reporters again asked whether the police have used expired tear gas, but Ng said he simply doesn't know. He also said he is not in a position to promise that expired tear gas won’t be used in future.

Ng did, however, promise to raise the issue with his seniors, adding that the Police Public Relations Branch will provide an answer to the media in future.