Rioters light fires as they gather in the Causeway Bay MTR station in Hong Kong on August 4. Photo: AFP

 
This past weekend, Hong Kong saw another violent demonstration. Black-clad extremist thugs hurled Molotov cocktails at the police, smashed police cars and even laid siege to a group of officers, threatening their safety and forcing officers to fire warning shots. 

At the same time, some unscrupulous reporters did not report the egregious acts of the rioters, but took pictures of the police being forced to raise their guns, implying that the police was  brutal. On Sunday, a video segment of police kicking a kneeling demonstrator went viral in Hong Kong. But the video had scenes deleted before and after the incident. The doctored clip was intended to discredit the police.

After more than a week of relatively peaceful demonstrations, the violence has  escalated and the use of Molotov cocktails, sticks and bricks has increased. What's more, all this has led to rioters ganging up against the police, which is intended to force the police strengthen defensive measures portrayed by biased journalists as unreasonable and cruel suppression by cops, worsening public sentiment, and allowing the situation to escalate. 

These are not only vicious but malevolent thugs working tacitly with unscrupulous journalists to mislead world opinion. Looking at the entire video, the scenes of police cars being smashed and police officers being chased are distressing. It would be unthinkable for the police to be threatened by rioters like this in any American or British city. 

From the outset, violent demonstrations have targeted Hong Kong's police force. Hong Kong radical public opinion focuses on smearing the law enforcement of the police. As everyone knows, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region does not have an army of its own, and the police are the only law-enforcement force equipped with light weapons. Injuring the police is tantamount to overthrowing the rule of law in Hong Kong. Therefore, various reports are constantly trying to undermine  the power of the police. Violent protesters attacked the police, and persecuted and harassed their family members. It's all about breaking the morale of the police and breaking the team.

Hong Kong police have shown rare restraint and professionalism in the face of complexity. They have worked extremely hard to maintain order in Hong Kong. Not only the society of Hong Kong but the whole country should pay our sincere respects to them.

It is conceivable that the failure to force the HKSAR government to accept the conditions will lead to even more violent thugs and possibly more severe challenges for the Hong Kong police to enforce the law.

It is worth noting that the people of Hong Kong who love Hong Kong and the country are also taking more active measures to support the police, and the state also provides stronger support for the cops. In order to crack down on the aggression of the rioters, we expect the police to take more targeted and resolute measures with support from all walks of life, and arrest more rioters on the spot. Only in this way can we curb the violence of Hong Kong extremists and turn the situation around. 

It is crucial for Hong Kong police to keep up the morale and enhance combat capabilities. The constructive forces in Hong Kong and the whole country do not want the situation to hurt the police force and force the city into anarchy until it reaches the point where the state has to take measures. It is a serious question whether the forces that are attacking and slandering Hong Kong's police know exactly what they are doing, who among them is being dragged in and who is viciously promoting the escalation of the situation.

Hong Kong police will face a tougher test next weekend when the opposition announces an August 31 rally. We believe that they will show their admirable loyalty to the people of Hong Kong and the city, and that they will show their peers around the world that they are worthy of the glorious title of the police.