A Victorian police station has been slammed for “honouring a police state” by flying the flag of the Chinese Communist regime.
Frank Chung – news.com.au – October 3, 2019
Victoria Police have been accused of “honouring a police state” by flying the flag of the Chinese Communist regime on its 70th birthday.
Box Hill station in the city’s east raised the flag on October 1 in honour of the National Day of the People’s Republic of China and to mark the beginning of the Whitehorse Chinese New Year Festival.
As many as 45 million people died in four years under Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward, making him the greatest mass murderer in world history. The Box Hill event was attended by the mayor, state and federal ministers and local business representatives.
“The flag-raising ceremony honours the local police station’s strong relationship with the local Chinese community, retailers and local business stakeholders,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said in a statement.
“Box Hill Police Station acknowledges the significance of this flag to a particular portion of the community without seeking to cause prejudice or offence to others. Box Hill police work closely with their local community and the raising of the flag, for one day, represents the commitment Box Hill police has in acknowledging what is an important day for many in their local area.”
She added, “Victoria Police acknowledges the concerns about the use of the flag by some people within the community, and the station will continue to assess the appropriateness of raising any flag at the police station.”
Box Hill resident Keith Wilkins told local newspaper the Whitehorse Leader “people are feeling quite uncomfortable” about the flag flying over the police station. “I’m not sure that’s appropriate,” he told the paper.
3AW radio host Neil Mitchell slammed the move on Wednesday, saying it was “a bad look”. “It’s a police station honouring a police state,” he said.