tim's experiment

An interesting moment in the patriotic voyage to the Diaoyu Archipelago came when the police boarded the patriotic protest trawler. Previous protest odyssies had ended at this point in a burst of law-enforcement based on the notion that trawlers are meant for fishing, and so are not designed, or more importantly licensed, to carry passengers. On this occasion, we were told, the Forces of Order boarded the trawler. The inhabitants of the boat, it transpired, had locked themselves in the wheelhouse and refused to admit the floating plods. Fearing that they would be carried into international waters, where they have no jurisdiction, Hong Kong’s finest unboarded the trawler, returned to their own boat and watched the protest pirates sail away. This was either a politically-directed charade or the most humiliating moment in the history of our police force since …  the last time a Commissioner of Police apologised.

Happily the Force’s reputation was to some extent restored on Monday. A member of the public called the police to  report that a dog had been left in its owner’s car with the windows closed, and that the dog seemed distressed. Police found that the car was locked. Like the island protesters, the dog did not unlock the door. The police in Yuen Long, however, are made of sterner stuff than their Marine counterparts. They broke a window, and rescued the dog. The dog was taken to a nearby dog hospital, where it was declared dead. The owner was arrested when she returned to the car, and will be charged with cruelty.

Clearly there is a need for some exchanges of expertise here. Perhaps the person in Yuen Long who knows how to break windows can be seconded to the Marine Police, where he can spread the word that trawlers have windows. Meanwhile the Marine moron who doesn’t know how to break windows could be transferred to Yuen Long, where his limitations may cause the odd dead dog but will not lead to international incidents.