The Police's strategy to maintain order during the WTO 6th Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong was successful, Hong Kong Commissioner of Police Dick Lee said Thursday.

He made the comment at a ceremony during which 25 officers and 18 units were commended at the Police Headquarters for their work during the conference last December.

Lee said the large number of arrests on December 17, 2005 were necessary and the move prevented any deterioration of the situation. Police used minimum force while suppressing the disturbance, he added.

Noting 40 Korean interpreters had been recruited to help investigations, Lee said more would have been better considering the large number of arrests made. But he maintained that the Police struck a balance between maintaining law and order and letting the demonstrators express their views.

When asked about Police deployment for forthcoming events, like the ITU Telecom World Conference and the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events, Lee said he did not anticipate any major demonstrations.

Source: Xinhua