What happened in Hong Kong on Monday morning?

If you read the Associated Press, you would be outraged at the "barbarous" police there.

According to its report: "Online video showed a police officer collaring one protester and then shooting another who approaches. The officer fired again as a third protester approached. Police said only one protester was hit and is undergoing surgery."

What the AP did not tell you and will never tell you, as the video below shows, is the "protester" was attacking the police officer before the latter "collared" him. And the second one who was hit did more than approach — He tried to take the pistol by wrenching it away.

The third one was struggling and perhaps dragging the police officer's gun when he "approached".

It is doubtful whether a person trying to rob a pistol should be called a "protester". If he means to show his discontent with something, he can say so in public instead of robbing a pistol and attacking the police officer holding it. "Rioter" is a more suitable word for these hooligans.

Yet the AP selectively neglected all these details in its reports, only saying a police officer shot a "protester".

To find evidence to condemn the police officer, the AP did a job that even a prosecutor would envy:

"A patch of what looked like dried blood could be seen in a cordoned-off area after the shooting, as angry onlookers shouted insults at the police."

It never mentioned there was another police officer near the "dried blood", trying to help the rioter who'd been shot.

It would be unfair to say Western media always stands against the police in riots. When the French police clashed with the Yellow Vests in Paris, Reuters reported "Dozens of black-hooded demonstrators threw rocks at police and some set fire to scooters and trash cans in the center of the French capital" and "Police responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades".

When protesters clashed with the police in Barcelona, Reuters said "As night fell, masked youths blocked a broad boulevard close to the city's police headquarters, setting fire to large garbage bins and throwing a hail of stones, cans and bottles toward massed lines of security forces in full riot gear".

When things happen in Paris or Barcelona, Western media outlets side with those who defend order. When similar things happen in Hong Kong, Western media outlets side with those who demolish it.