Exclusive | Hong Kong to ramp up security for handover anniversary, guard against ‘new threats’ including Covid-19, ‘home-grown terrorism’
- Security chief Chris Tang says all law enforcement agencies will be mobilised and preparations are in full swing to ensure guests’ safety
- Plans for mobilisation, operations and emergency response under way, with police equipment and technology also upgraded, Tang adds
Protecting the Chinese state leader and his entourage from terrorist attacks and Covid-19 infection are among the challenges law enforcement agencies will face during the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, the security minister has revealed.
Hong Kong would mobilise all law enforcement agencies for the July 1 handover commemoration, which coincided with the swearing-in of John Lee Ka-chiu as the new chief executive, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said in a wide-ranging exclusive interview with the Post, adding that police had also upgraded their equipment.
Though it remained unclear whether Chinese President Xi Jinping would lead the central government’s delegation to Hong Kong for the event as he did five years ago, Tang said preparations were in full swing to ensure guests’ safety.
New threats including the coronavirus pandemic and home-grown terrorism had emerged, he said, making security work this year more challenging compared with 2017 when global terrorism and public order were authorities’ main concerns.
“Will the VIPs be infected after arriving in the city? Prevention and control measures are new challenges,” Tang said. “We must map out some measures. But of course, they are not solely decided by the bureau or law enforcement agencies. We must look at health-related arrangements to ensure anti-pandemic protection for the attendees.
“All law enforcement agencies will be in full mobilisation. Anything that happens on the 25th anniversary will become a focal point. Many people want to take advantage of the events to cause disturbance in Hong Kong. We won’t take any chances.
Xi has not set foot outside mainland China since the pandemic began more than two years ago. He visited Myanmar and met now-deposed president U Win Myint days before ordering a lockdown in Wuhan in Hubei province in January 2020.
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Four years after Xi became president in 2013, he visited Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of the city’s transfer from British to Chinese rule and to oversee the swearing-in of the new chief executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, and her cabinet on July 1.
A check by the Post has found that two top hotels in Wan Chai – Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel, where Xi stayed during his three-day visit to the city in 2017, and Grand Hyatt – are closed to guests between June 28 and July 1.
Tang, who was the force’s director of operations in charge of Xi’s security in 2017, said international terrorism threats had intensified given the Russo-Ukrainian war and the fatal bombing outside the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute in Pakistan targeting Chinese nationals.
The force’s national security department in March broke up an underground organisation that advocated Hong Kong independence and allegedly trained members to use weapons in preparation for subversive acts.
Tang said law enforcement agencies, including police and customs, had ramped up intelligence gatherings, risk assessments and counterterrorism drills. Plans for mobilisation, operations and emergency response were under way and officers had upgraded their equipment and technology, including tools to counter suspicious drones. But the minister stopped short of revealing details because of operational concerns.
“Threats of global terrorism and public order remain,” he said. “But now we also have local terrorism. Attacks on police officers and plans to detonate explosives in public areas did happen. We seized a lot of explosives and real guns over the past five years. The risks are relatively imminent. The challenges are huge.”
The threat of a terrorist attack in Hong Kong remained moderate, he added.
In the past, state leaders often encountered protests, but Tang said he expected fewer demonstrations this year as the current social-distancing rules capped group gatherings in public places at four people. However, authorities would prepare for the worst and guard against unauthorised assemblies.
Special constables, who had been seconded from five other departments when police manpower was stretched to the limit by anti-government protests in 2019, will also be deployed.
This year’s handover anniversary marks the halfway point of the “one country, two systems” principle, under which Hong Kong is guaranteed a high degree of autonomy for 50 years after reunification.
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Among the highlights of the celebrations will be a grand parade involving both the Hong Kong garrison of the People’s Liberation Army and the disciplined forces at the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy in Tseung Kwan O. Hong Kong’s disciplined services have opted for the Chinese-style “goose-step” marching as a show of unity.
Other events include skills demonstrations, charity concerts and guided heritage tours at places such as the Yau Ma Tei Police Station. Tang said he hoped the activities could cultivate a sense of national identity and imbue positive spirit among the public.
The city had witnessed “colour revolutions” and “penetration of foreign forces” in the past and it was high time for Hongkongers to unite, he added.
“We need to strive ahead so that we have a solid ground for economic growth,” he said. “It’s also time for us to enrich our knowledge of national affairs and unite.”
