Picture of water cannon receives public attention

A picture of a water cannon has been gaining attention on Hong Kong websites and social media. Netizens are claiming that the cannon is the latest form of equipment purchased by the Hong Kong police in order to prevent potentially violent public riots. However, the Hong Kong police clarified that the picture has no connection with any water cannon that it might have ordered, Wen Wei Po reported.
After the events of Occupy Central back in 2014, the Hong Kong police planned to invest HKD27 million in three water cannons as the result of a bidding process that started at the end of last year and ended in February.
The aforementioned picture depicts a blue water cannon along with a caption claiming that the cannon was purchased by the police force.
Naturally, comments followed. Internet user Ian Man said, “You don’t see the police doing anything else that fast, only when they stand against their own people.”
Besides those criticizing the supposed purchase, other users have been pointing out that the water cannon in the picture might in fact belong to the Macau police force. Internet user Pau Ming wrote that “the cannon was on display at the anniversary ceremony of the Public Security Police Force.”
A third user, Brian Poon, indicated that “the private car seen in the background of the picture has a Hong Kong license plate.” Nonetheless, a few other users have said that the water cannon was, indeed, in Hong Kong, but only during the shipping process, with Macau set to be the final destination.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong police authority released a statement saying that it is indeed in the process of acquiring three water cannons. Staff reporter