Protest Policing in Hong Kong: Maintaining Professionalism and Solidarity in the Face of Renewed Political Challenges
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1744 |
| Author | Tingjin Lin,John P. Burns |
| Published date | 01 May 2016 |
| Date | 01 May 2016 |
PROTEST POLICING IN HONG KONG: MAINTAINING
PROFESSIONALISM AND SOLIDARITY IN THE FACE OF RENEWED
POLITICAL CHALLENGES
TINGJIN LIN AND JOHN P. BURNS*
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
SUMMARY
Protest has been a feature of Hong Kong political life since the mid-1950s. The structure of protest policing in Hong Kong
should be seen from institutional, organizational, and individual levels. We examine the norms and values, staffing, profession-
alism, and individual motivation of police officers. Based on a questionnaire and performance data, we seek to understand police
behavior in the context of increasing protest in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
key words—protest policing; Hong Kong police; performance; functional, solidarity, and pecuniary preferences
INTRODUCTION
Protest policing has been an integral part of policing in Hong Kong since the late 1950s. The literature indicates
that the structure of protest policing depends on institutional and organizational features of policing and police
agencies (Earl and Soule, 2006). We argue that a more complete picture of protest policing should also include
the individual motivation of police officers. That is, protest policing is best understood from institutional, organi-
zational, and individual levels. We briefly review the institutional and organizational features of protest policing in
Hong Kong, focusing on the relatively neglected field individual police motivation. Our study indicates that indi-
vidual police performance in all domains, including protest policing, may be understood by examining the func-
tional and solidarity preferences of individual officers and the importance they and their supervisors place on
supervision and professionalism (Brehm and Gates, 1999).
BACKGROUND
Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is an economically developed city, characterized by a rela-
tively high degree of autonomy from the central government, the rule of law, a low crime rate, a relatively efficient
and corruption-free civil service, and an increasingly robust civil society. The Hong Kong Police Force, established
in 1844, evolved into a paramilitary force typical of colonial police forces (Lau, 2004) and has had considerable
experience of dealing with civil unrest. During the post-World War II colonial era, major unrest occurred in
1956 (Kuo Min Tang (KMT) riots in Hong Kong) and in 1967 and 1968 when civil discontent and cultural
revolution-inspired violent riots rocked the territory (Bickers and Yep, 2009). In the post-colonial era, the Hong
Kong Police have reported a rapid increase in the number of “public order events”(public meetings and public pro-
cessions), especially since 2003 (Figure 1). Although official statistics do not capture “protests”among these
*Correspondence to: J. P. Burns, Politics and Public Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. E-mail: jpburns@hku.hk
Formerly Jiangsu Professor and Dean, School of Public Administration, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics. Lin Tingjin passed away
on 18 December 2014 at the age of 38. A young life cut short, he had so much more to contribute.
public administration and development
Public Admin. Dev. 36,93–107 (2016)
Published online in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pad.1744
Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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