On Aug 13, Police armed with batons and pepper spray have clashed with thousands of anti-police-brutality protesters at Hong Kong’s international airport, when two Mainland Chinese, suspected to be moles, were detained by protesters there. Baggio Leung, former democratically elected lawmaker disqualified for declaring that Hong Kong is not China, opines on his Facebook, "If moles pretending to be protesters (and discovered) do not have to pay, what will the dirty cops do subsequently?" "Of course, they will send more moles to catch protesters who fail to run fast enough," Leung reasons, "and then plant evidence on them, so as to have them sent to jail for 8 or 10 years." "In order to protect our comrades, it is necessary to do something which will make them understand 'To be a mole, there's a price to pay', and which will put pressure on them. There is no other way apart from this," Leung concludes.
Planting Evidence Becoming a Norm
Some pan-democrats, however, think that harassment of moles will spoil the image of the "Anti-Extradition Law Movement" (2 pan-democracy lawmakers even tried to protect the 2 suspected moles), while other critics think that frontline activists should not be discouraged. As shown by a NOW TV video, a HK cop planted a stick in the rucksack of a protester while arresting him in Causeway Bay.
Nunchuks Found!
A pair of nunchuks and China passport were found on the person of the first suspected mole, who had been taking close shots of the protesters. His name was found on the police list of Shenzhen. A China passport and a T-shirt with the words, "I love Police" were found on the person of the second suspected mole. He claimed to be a reporter from the China State-controlled media, Global Times, but he had never disclosed his identity before being caught.
Pic credit: RTHK