Those who “encourage violence and incite hatred” share blame for stabbed police, security chief says

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Hong Kong’s new security minister called the stabbing of a police officer on the anniversary of the city’s handover as a local terrorist act as a lone wolf, saying the suspect died after he being stabbed was radicalized.

Security Secretary Chris Tang and Police Commissioner Raymond Siu visited the injured 28-year-old officer at Queen Mary Hospital on Friday morning. The police tactical unit officer was stabbed in the left shoulder blade outside the Sogo Mall in Causeway Bay on Thursday, as Hong Kong marked 24 years since being handed over to China.

Chris Tang meets the press outside Queen Mary Hospital on July 2, 2021. Photo: RTHK screenshot.

The attack left the officer with a 10-centimeter deep wound and lung injury, according to Tang, who was appointed head of the Security Bureau last week after leading the police force since November 2019. Local media reported on Friday that the policeman was in serious condition.

The security chief said the case had been classified as attempted murder and there was currently no evidence that the 50-year-old suspect had an accomplice. The assailant was pronounced dead at 11:20 p.m. Thursday at RuttonjeeHospital, after stabbing himself in the chest as a result of the assault with the same knife.

Based on our preliminary investigation, we believe this to be a local lone wolf terror attack, Tang told reporters outside the hospital.

A police officer is on the ground after being stabbed outside the Sogo Mall in Causeway Bay on July 1, 2021. Photo: Ryan Lai / CitizenNews.

Tang said that aside from the perpetrator, many others who encourage violence and incite hatred should also be blamed for the stabbing. He accused some people of stoking hatred against society and the country, as well as of bragging about violent behavior.

Besides the assailant, there are people behind him with blood on their hands, the security minister said.

[F]objects found in [the suspects] house, including computers, show he was divided and radicalized to become a lone wolf attack[er], he added.

Police arrested at least 19 people Thursday in Causeway Bay, Tin Hau, Mong Kok and Wong Tai Sin. The force also issued tickets to 19 people for allegedly violating Covid-19 public assembly restrictions.

The public abhors violence

Upon her return from Beijing on Thursday evening, Executive Director Carrie Lam strongly condemned the attack on the officer. The city leader said during a press briefing at the airport that she was concerned about the incidents on the anniversary of the handover that have undermined public order.

Carrie Lam meets the press at the airport on July 1, 2021. Photo: RTHK screenshot.

Such behavior was clearly aimed at social stability and neglected law and order. In today’s Hong Kong society, everyone cherishes the hard-won peace. [The attack] was very unfortunate, Lam said.

She cited the throwing of flammable objects at Government House, the desecration of the national flag, the possession of offensive weapons, the distribution of seditious publications.

A government statement said that, according to Lam, members of the public hate violence and cherish the stability of society very much since the implementation of the National Security Law last year.

Lam was in Beijing to attend the Chinese Communist Party’s centenary celebrations. Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday warned that any foreign force that had the illusion of intimidating, oppressing or enslaving the Chinese people would break their heads and spill blood on a Great Wall of steel built by the Chinese. blood and flesh of 14 billion Chinese.

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