Hong Kong’s police chief has pledged vigilance against lingering threats of external interference, home-grown terrorism and “soft resistance”, five years after the Beijing-imposed national security law was promulgated.
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Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said that while Hong Kong had returned to a state of stability in recent years, “undercurrents” remained that required the force to boost its intelligence-gathering and law enforcement efforts.
“Now we are talking about how to advance from stability to prosperity … there is no room for complacency. There are still undercurrents that we have to be vigilant at all times,” he said in an interview marking the coming fifth anniversary of the law’s implementation.
The legislation was promulgated on June 30, 2020, and outlaws secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
The police chief said the United States was among several Western governments that still sought to use Hong Kong as a means of “targeting” mainland China.
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“For example, by enforcing so-called sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland government officials, or by threatening to close our Economic and Trade Offices, also the cancellation of preferential trade treatment,” he said.