'My son doesn't dare to say his father is a policeman,' says HK mother

The recent unrest in Hong Kong has posed great pressure not only on the police, but also their families. CGTN spoke to the wife of a Hong Kong policeman, who worries her son would be bullied by other classmates.

The screen shot from cgtn.com shows a wife of a Hong Kong policeman receiving an interview. [Photo: China Plus]

For privacy and safety concern, the wife has required anonymity, not showing her face and getting her voice transmuted.

Police officers' children bullied

“At the moment, I dare not let my child say that his father is a policeman. I have a friend whose son was isolated by all his classmates because he said 'I support the police.' He was even removed from the class's WhatsApp group," the woman told CGTN.

"My heart hurts by asking my son not to talk about his father's job. For a little boy, police officers are heroes. I told my friends that I want to move somewhere else where my son could proudly say 'My dad is a policeman.' I'm really disappointed with Hong Kong."

As the new school year is around the corner, the woman is getting even more worried. Her concern is justified.

A picture posted online has called for students to "boycott" policemen's children. It asked students not to play with them, and described police officers as "killers."

1,600 policemen's private data leaked

According to Hong Kong police, the private information of more than 1,600 policemen has been leaked online.

"Their personal addresses, even the passwords of their entrance gates were leaked. I have a friend whose husband works at the Special Tactical Squad. His phone number was posted online, and he got harassment calls every day."

We can’t give up our home

There are 30,000 policemen in Hong Kong but frequent protests are having their toll on them, especially as radical demonstrators target them.

"Despite that, my husband is still optimistic. He says ‘It's easy to give up, but Hong Kong is our home and we must stick to it'."

"I don't usually go to any protest, I don't want to bring additional workload to the police. Now there are many residents who support the police, and we are grateful to them," she noted.