Chris Tang

Chris Tang Ping-keung PSDM (Chinese: 鄧炳強, born 4 July 1965 with family roots in Dongguan, Guangdong) is the current Commissioner of Police of the Hong Kong Police Force since 19 November 2019.

Chris Tang PSDM
鄧炳強
Commissioner of Police
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 November 2019
Chief Executive	Carrie Lam
Preceded by	Stephen Lo
Personal details
Born	4 July 1965 British Hong Kong
Alma mater	Chung Chi College, CUHK (BSS)
Awards	Police Distinguished Service Medal (2018)

Chris Tang
Traditional Chinese	鄧炳強
Simplified Chinese	邓炳强
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dèng Bǐngqiáng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping dang6 bing2 koeng4

Education

Chris Tang has received training and education from various institutions, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, Royal College of Defence Studies, in London, the China Executive Leadership Academy in Pudong, Shanghai; Chinese People's Public Security University and Chinese Academy of Governance in Beijing. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Science, a Master's degree in Business Administration and a Master's degree in International Security and Strategy.[1]

Career

Tang was educated at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and received a Bachelor's degree in Social Science in 1987. He joined the Royal Hong Kong Police Force in the same year as an inspector. He spent many years working in the criminal investigation, international liaison and operational command. He was seconded to Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon as a specialised officer from 2006 to 2008, before he was promoted in the organisation as the head of Criminal Organisation and Violent Unit.[1]

In 2015, Tang was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police and discharged duties as regional commander of Hong Kong Island and Assistant Commissioner, Personnel. He was promoted to the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner and appointed as Director of Operations before he became Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations). He was awarded the Police Distinguished Service Medal (PDSM) in 2018.[1]

Tang was appointed the Commissioner of Police by the State Council of China in November 2019,[2] succeeding Stephen Lo amid the widespread 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, at a time when police were under unrelenting criticism for excessive use of force. He was in charge of the police operation code-named Tiderider in response to street protests triggered by the extradition bill since June 2019.[3] He has stated that the police are against having an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality, which is a key demand from the protesters, and claimed "fake news" was undermining the reputation of his police force.[4][5][6] Following Tang's appointment as the Commissioner of Police in November 2019, the police changed its motto from "We serve with pride and care" which had been used for more than 20 years, to "Serving Hong Kong with honour, duty and loyalty."[7] According to the Taiwan News he "is known as a hardliner in the conflict with the pro-democracy protesters." He has said the violence perpetrated by activists is "very close to terrorism."[6]

On 3 July 2020, Xinhua, the official Chinese state-run press agency, stated that the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was formally established with 10 members. As the Commissioner of Hong Kong Police Force, Tang was a member of the committee.[8]

U.S. sanctions

In August 2020, Tang and ten other Hong Kong officials were sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury under an Executive Order 13936 by President Trump for acts undermining Hong Kong's autonomy.[9][10][11] Chris Tang is found to have his mortgage at Chi Fu Fa Yuen in Pok Fu Lam transferred from HSBC to Bank of China (Hong Kong) on 4 August 2020, i.e. 3 days before the sanction.[12] The property was bought in March 2017 for HK $6.25 million.[13]

On October 14, 2020, the United States Department of State released a report on 10 individuals who materially contributed to the failure of the China to meet its obligations under the Sino–British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law. Tang was on the list. [14]

Controversies

Alleged infringement of academic autonomy

According to Stand News, Tang sent a letter to Stephen Cheung, the president of Education University of Hong Kong (EduHK), on 27 April 2020 requesting a follow up to the speech of Choi Chun-wai (蔡俊威) on RTHK television programme Pentaprism II (左右紅藍綠). The speech of Choi mentioned the Siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and criticized the actions of Hong Kong Police, while Tang accused Choi for inciting hatred towards the Hong Kong Police. Democratic Party Legislative Council member Ted Hui expressed concern and stated that he would send a letter to Civil Service Bureau to follow up on Tang's actions. In support of Choi, Pro-democracy group Progressive Scholars Group accused Tang of infringing on academic freedom and autonomy.[15] Choi was also supported by the student unions of 9 universities in Hong Kong, including that of Education University of Hong Kong.[16]

References

1. "Senior Officers". Hong Kong Police Force.
2. "China's State Council Appoints New Police Chief in Hong Kong". The New York Times. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
3. "New Hong Kong police chief says the force can't end protests alone". South China Morning Post. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
4. "New Hong Kong police chief Chris Tang tells residents: the force cannot end the protests alone". South China Morning Post. 19 November 2019.
5. "Hong Kong protesters stage dramatic escape from police siege of Polytechnic University, but hundreds remain trapped". ABC News. 19 November 2019.
6. Strong, Matthew. "Hong Kong appoints hardline police chief". Taiwan News. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
7. "New top cop spells out plan of action". The Standard. 20 November 2019.
8. Liu, Mingyang (8 August 2020). "The Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is formally established with Carrie Lam as chairman". Xinhua Net. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
9. "US sanctions Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, police chief and 9 other top officials for 'undermining autonomy'". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
10. Macias, Amanda (7 August 2020). "U.S. sanctions Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam for carrying out Chinese 'policies of suppression'". CNBC. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
11. "Treasury Sanctions Individuals for Undermining Hong Kong's Autonomy". United States Department of the Treasury. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
12. "美國制裁│鄧炳強置富花園物業轉按中銀香港 美宣布制裁3日前完成". HK01. 18 August 2020.
13. "Hong Kong's police chief moved mortgage to Chinese bank ahead of sanctions". South China Morning Post. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
14. U.S. Department of State. "Identification of Foreign Persons Involved in the Erosion of the Obligations of China Under the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law". Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
15. "鄧炳強發信跟進教大講師言論 高教界聯署斥損學術自由 促張仁良公正處理".
16. "香港教育大學學生會 The Education University of Hong Kong Students' Union". Retrieved 28 April 2020.