A police force accused of operating by force rather than trust has been offering up lessons to New Zealand on how to handle riots, to the concern of an international human rights group and a Kiwi MP
New Zealand has been urged to rip up a cooperation agreement with Hong Kong police, after it emerged Kiwi cops had been educated on riot tactics by a force accused of brutality against protesters.
A news item on the Hong Kong Police Force website said a 10-member senior delegation had visited New Zealand in mid-February to “exchange comments regarding the policing development and the challenges ahead”.
In addition to visiting a number of NZ Police facilities, the delegation also took part in a number of seminars led by Kiwi officers and “in return introduced the contribution of [Hong Kong police] over the past three years in combating riots and the pandemic.”
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Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers took to the city’s streets during 2019 and 2020 to protest against a planned extradition law, as well as a broader loss of autonomy due to Chinese interference in the “one country, two systems” model of governance.
A subsequent government crackdown sparked claims of police brutality and misconduct, with an Amnesty International field investigation in late 2019 finding evidence of arbitrary arrests, excessive use of force, and violence against people in custody that “amounted to torture”.
No Hong Kong police were disciplined as a result of their actions according to the Washington Post, while a report from the city’s police watchdog largely clearing officers of wrongdoing was criticised by human rights observers as a whitewash.
Since then, the police force has been tasked with enforcing the controversial national security legislation imposed upon Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020 – a decision that led to New Zealand suspending its extradition treaty with the city.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta last year expressed concern at “the steady erosion of rights, freedoms, and autonomy that has occurred in Hong Kong” following the law’s introduction, with pro-democracy leaders and media outlets charged with collusion and sedition among other offences.
“They are not policing by trust, they are policing by force – that’s all they have now, and that is definitely not a place that anyone wants New Zealand to be in.” – Keith Ng, former journalist
Former journalist Keith Ng, who covered the Hong Kong protests in 2019, told Newsroom the city’s police force “should really be a pariah” given their misconduct.
In one notorious incident, police took 40 minutes to respond to reports of alleged triad members attacking civilians at Yuen Long station despite receiving over 24,000 calls to an emergency number.
"There is no universe in which that is acceptable behaviour,” Ng said. "That is straight-up collusion with organised crime."
It was difficult to understand why Kiwi police would want to take lessons from their Hong Kong counterparts on riot policing and other matters, given the dramatic loss of trust the latter had experienced as a result of their approach.
“They are not policing by trust, they are policing by force – that’s all they have now, and that is definitely not a place that anyone wants New Zealand to be in.”
New Zealand’s police needed to “put their values front and centre” when deciding whether to work with other forces and should cease its cooperation programme with Hong Kong, Ng said.
Green Party foreign affairs spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman expressed similar concerns, telling Newsroom the Government and police needed to take a principled position on calling out human rights violations, “whether they’re being committed by our friends and trading partners or not”.
New Zealand regularly expressed alarm at police in Pacific nations working with and being educated by Chinese forces, but itself appeared to be engaging in something similar, Ghahraman said.
Amnesty International researcher Kai Ong told Newsroom collaboration between New Zealand and Hong Kong police on how to handle protests was “an alarming development”, given the human rights violations committed during the protests.
“Over three years after the protest, the Hong Kong government has yet to launch an independent investigation into the excessive use of force by the police. Instead, the authorities have continued to further restrict freedom of expression in the city and imprison those who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly.”
Governments needed to ensure any cooperation with Hong Kong police was conducted transparently and in full compliance with international human rights standards, Ong said.
“It is crucial to prevent the spread of repressive policing tactics and protect the rights of all individuals, including the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.”
'Domestic civil unrest' discussed
In a written statement, an NZ Police spokeswoman described the Hong Kong police force as “a long-standing partner” and said the February visit took place as part of a cooperation agreement to tackle crime.
The Hong Kong police who visited the country “represented current and developing leaders at the operational level with an interest in learning how innovation improves frontline policing … as well as the associated deployment strategies”.
“During the visit, the [Hong Kong] delegation delivered a short presentation in relation to their experiences and learnings in responding to domestic civil unrest.
“In response, [NZ Police] took the opportunity to give an overview of our recent experiences. This included discussing our policing responses, which are delivered in a manner that focuses on maintaining community trust and confidence in police.”
The spokeswoman did not address questions about whether it was appropriate to work with Hong Kong police given the misconduct allegations and their role in enforcing the national security law.
Police Minister Ginny Andersen initially declined to comment on whether the Government was comfortable with cooperation between the two forces, with a spokesperson saying it was “a matter for police to speak to”.
However, in a subsequent statement provided after this story was first published, Andersen said she had "a general expectation that police conduct themselves in a manner that reflects New Zealand’s position on foreign affairs".
"That includes the concern our Government has raised about the continued erosion of rights, freedom and autonomy in Hong Kong. Police in New Zealand operate on the principle of policing by consent, and I expect to see Police putting that front and centre in their interactions with international partners."
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Newsroom the ministry had been made aware of the visit but was not involved in discussions with the Hong Kong Police Force.
New Zealand had been concerned about Hong Kong's trajectory for some time following the imposition of the national security law, with Mahuta raising those concerns during her recent visit to Beijing.
While the Government had suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, the ministry spokeswoman said the two jurisdictions "nonetheless...retain a common interest in law enforcement cooperation, particularly in the areas of financial crime, counter-narcotics and organised crime".
"These are areas where we continue to work constructively together."
* This article has been updated with additional comments received after publication from Police Minister Ginny Andersen and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
