Staff members counted votes at a polling station in Hong Kong late Sunday night after polls closed at 10:30 pm. Photo: Yang Sheng/GT

Hong Kong's former police chief expects newly elected district councilors to cooperate with the government and police to end the riots and restore social order, saying the election result will not affect the direction of police work in ending riots.

Tang King-shing, former police commissioner of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, told the Global Times on Monday that he respects the election results.

Pan-democracy candidates have taken a significant lead in the 2019 Hong Kong District Council elections, although the final result has not been announced.

Tang said the district council's main work is focused on people's livelihood, such as traffic and health issues, while many so-called pro-democracy candidates have campaigned on political issues, which are beyond the scope of their work as district councilors.

"I am a little concerned about their purpose. Is it about politics or people's livelihood?" Tang said.

Tang said it's difficult to say at this moment if the safety situation will improve after the election.

"The district council targets livelihood, and stability is what is needed most for improving people's livelihood. Rioting is completely against [improving people's] livelihood," Tang said.

Tang appealed to the newly elected district councilors to properly deal with problems in their districts, and cooperate with the government and police to improve public security, and not foment the violence.

"Don't try to use the district council as a platform to threaten the government. The district council should be a platform for cooperation with the government, not a political platform. Otherwise, they will let the voters down," Tang said.

He said that the election this time has been determined by political stances rather than focusing on the ability of candidates to promote district work or solve difficulties facing residents.

In the past months, some people have reversed causes and consequences and targeted government and police actions that have been distorted in the past months, asking "why disperse those protesters or why fire tear gas," Tang said.

He said that the election result will have no effect on the police who are focused on ending the riots. "Who will do it if not the police?" Tang asked.