HONG KONG: Hong Kong police have arrested nine people involved in making explosives with at least one claiming to belong to a “radical group”, days ahead of a vote on a controversial political reform package.
Police would not name the group or specify motives but said that maps of central districts of Hong Kong had been found and warned anyone taking part in public gatherings to stay away from “violent protesters”.
It comes as a series of rallies is taking place before the expected Friday vote on a divisive roadmap for the city’s electoral system, which led to mass protests at the end of last year.
“The operation resulted in the arrest of nine Hong Kong citizens for the offence of conspiracy to manufacture explosives,” Au Chin-chau, superintendent of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, told reporters yesterday.
“During police inquiries someone claimed to be a member of a local radical organisation,” he said.
Au would not clarify how many of the group belonged to the organisation, but said “not all”.
He described the group as a “local syndicate involved in manufacturing explosives”.
The South China Morning Post and the Oriental Daily had earlier said those arrested were activists from pro-democracy “localist” groups, which have come into the spotlight in recent months.
Such groups are frustrated with the lack of progress on electoral reform and have argued that Hong Kong should distance itself from Beijing to forge its own political future.
Five men and four women between 21 and 34 years old were arrested.
Chemicals were seized at an abandoned television studio in the eastern district of Sai Kung, with some detonated at the scene.
A house search later led to the seizure of ingredients which could be used to make TATP, “a form of high explosive”, said Au.
Maps of the central neighbourhoods of Wan Chai and Admiralty were also found, as well as a number of air rifles. Both locations were at the heart of last year’s mass pro-democracy rallies and the government complex is in Admiralty.
The reform Bill to be voted on lays out a proposal for choosing the city’s next leader by public vote for the first time in 2017.
But it sticks to a ruling from Beijing which stipulates that candidates must be vetted by a loyalist committee.
That ruling sparked mass rallies and roadblocks towards the end of last year, with campaigners dismissing it as “fake democracy”. Pro-democracy legislators are vowing to block the proposal.
Au did not directly link the arrests to the protests, but warned: “Should there be any confrontations, citizens should protect their own safety, leave the scene at once and maintain a safe distance with the violent protesters.” — AFP/thestar
