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Since the establishment of the Force in its 176 years of history, the TIDERIDER Medal is the first Police Medal for Special Operation to signify the collective efforts of the Force members involved in a special operation.
On December 30, 2020, Commissioner Tang Ping-keung hosted the first presentation ceremony for TIDERIDER Medal and presented a specially designed operation medal to a total of 74 officers, including 30 serving and retiring Commissioner Rank Officers, as well as 44 officers who were injured in the execution of duty during Operation TIDERIDER.
The exemplary performance and commitment of individual members of the Force have been long recognised under the Honours and Awards System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Force Commendation Regime. In the past, only the HKSAR will recognise the contributions of individuals by way of medals, whilst it is a norm for the Departmental Heads to recognise the outstanding performance of their subordinates by paper forms.
The social unrest brought about enormous challenges to the Force in 2019. Operation TIDERIDER was kicked off to tackle and quell the riots. Operation TIDERIDER is unique and unprecedented in terms of the scale, complexity, command structure, mobilisation of resources, number of units involved and duration.
In order to recognise the collective efforts of the Force members in a Police special operation, the Force issued Headquarters Order No.8/2020 “The Hong Kong Police Medal for Special Operations” after having consulted with the Security Bureau and the Civil Service Bureau. In essence, the Commissioner of Police, in consultation with the Senior Directorate Group, may decide whether a special operation is deemed worthy of recognition by way of the Police Medal and present the special operation medals to officers for their collective effort in participation in a special operation. Operation TIDERIDER is the first of its kind which fully meets the criteria of presenting “The Hong Kong Police Medal for Special Operations”. Officers of all ranks who fulfil any of the following criteria are eligible for nomination for the TIDERIDER Medal:
(1) professionalism and diligence displayed during the unprecedented challenges for a prolonged period of time, with a view to restoring law and order; or
(2) bravery exhibited in the face of obvious and clear danger; or
(3) distinguished support services to officers participated in the operation.
On the obverse of the TIDERIDER Medal is the Force crest, while the reverse shows an anti-riot police officer holding a round shield in uniform. The medal ribbon is sewed with a horizontal stripe in either orange or purple colour to highlight the common quality of respective officers who had participated in Operation TIDERIDER; in which orange connotes courage, whereas purple connotes wisdom, demonstrating the unique role performed by different awardees in the operation.
As the number of officers who were directly or indirectly involved in Operation TIDERIDER was huge, those who were assigned to Tier I, Tier II or Tier III Companies, or who were part of the Regional Response Contingents / Headquarters Response Contingent on or before March 31, 2020, for at least 30 days will be awarded a medal with orange stripe upon the recommendation of respective Major Formations and the endorsement of relevant Programme Directors. For other Force members, they will also be awarded a medal with purple stripe if they contributed to Operation TIDERIDER in other posts with the accumulated work of 30 days or more.
The Commissioner emphasised in the presentation ceremony that real heroes are those who overcome overwhelming obstacles that others cannot. Violence and denigration will come to an end, while the blood and sweat, toil and sacrifices of the police officers during the Operation for safeguarding Hong Kong and its citizens will be remembered by the country and citizens of Hong Kong. He encouraged officers to show the true colours of the Tideriders so that the Force can continue to brave it out amid the challenges ahead.
Major Formation Commanders will present the Police medals to the awardees of their Formations on behalf of the Commissioner later due to a large number of awardees.
