Abstract This thesis analyses a selection of press releases by the Hong Kong Police Force during the street occupations that became known as the 'Umbrella Movement' in 2014. It draws mainly upon an analysis of news frames to show how the press releases and press conferences present the HKPF in a positive manner, while presenting the protesters as acting illegally and irresponsibly. The frames most relevant to the study are the conflict frame, the economic consequences frame, the attribution of responsibility frame, the morality frame and the human interest frame. The thesis also illustrates the rhetorical self-positioning of the HKPF through an analysis of functional clause structures and illocutionary appeals. The thesis finds that there is a systematic reframing of the HKPF in a positive light through its press conferences, but that the press releases and press conferences have to be understood in the context of larger discourses in the mass media and now, increasingly, on social media network. Key words: The Umbrella Movement, press releases, news frames, functional clause structures, illocutionary appeals, reframing