On the anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a “lone wolf” stabbed a police officer outside a popular department store in Causeway Bay, before turning the knife on himself. The man was rushed to the hospital but died shortly afterward.
The 28-year-old police officer sustained a 10-centimeter wound in his back and a punctured lung. Thankfully, he is recovering well after surgery.
Investigations have revealed that the attacker, now considered to be a domestic terrorist, had material on his computer that indicated his radical inclinations. He was also an avid reader of the Apple Daily newspaper.
But that is not the most frightening thing of all.
The attacker and police officer had no connection outside the attack; the attacker targeted a random officer without considering the consequences. And after this, he ended his life in the most shocking way — knifing his own chest — in a busy street in full view of the public.
Lone-wolf attacks are often committed at random and by attackers who have little to lose. This attack was one of those instances, and it certainly won’t be the last.
As far back as 2019, I shared my concerns about the likelihood of domestic terrorism in Hong Kong. I also warned the Hong Kong SAR government that extra caution needed to be exercised as police officers would be the first victims.
We need to encourage our young and discontented population to sublimate their discontent and negative energy into more meaningful activities that will benefit society as a whole. Meanwhile, I appeal to all to keep alert. If you notice anything or anyone acting strange, stay calm, stay safe, and call for help
Not long after this lone-wolf attack, an alleged bomb plot was stopped in its tracks by the police. Fourteen people have since been arrested, including nine students. The group reportedly intended to bomb public facilities such as the cross-harbor tunnels, law courts, train stations, and rubbish bins in busy areas of Hong Kong.
Aged between 15 and 39, the plotters were alleged to have plans worked out for fleeing the city after setting off homemade triacetone triperoxide bombs.
Police reports said that one of the alleged plotters is a Baptist University staff employed at management level. We do not know yet whether the man funded the HK$600,000 (US$77,250) reportedly used in the plot.
In Hong Kong’s pro-independence movement, as in other political movements, there are five stages: emergence, fragmentation, radicalization, weakening, and rehabilitation.
Emergence appeared in the form of the anti-government protests that began in June 2019, when hundreds of thousands of protesters marched on the streets against the extradition bill.
Shortly after emergence came the fragmentation stage. In the wake of the anti-government protests, a number of splinter groups were formed.
Then entered the third stage: radicalization. Some of the splinter groups have far more extreme demands and, therefore, extreme attempts to achieve their goals. This is when the violence started.
The actions of these splinter groups took the form of arson, property damage, and doxxing, to name a few.
Following this violence and the rejection by society comes the weakening stage. This is when the public turns against those radical minorities, as their violent and other extreme actions are abandoned by the public.
In Hong Kong, superficially, it seems we have entered the weakening stage, but in reality, we have not really passed the radicalization stage. Even with our new National Security Law, the arrests of many anti-government leaders are only the beginning of what needs to be done.
But we know all too well that things don’t stay calm for long, and the lone-wolf attack is a stark reminder that Hong Kong has a long way to go before it reaches the rehabilitation stage of social progression.
Considering the attempts in some quarters to glorify the lone-wolf terror attack, it appears that we may still be in the throes of the radicalization stage.
Some adults brought children to the attack scene to lay flowers. Vitasoy, the attacker’s employer, saw its stock price plummet after an internal memo offering its condolences, which it then rejected, was leaked online. Some have gone so far as to praise the attacker and hail him as a “martyr”.
The University of Hong Kong Students’ Union Council even passed a motion and released a statement to honor the attacker, whom they glorified as someone who sacrificed his life for Hong Kong. Shortly after, the union withdrew the statement and apologized.
But one could not help but suspect the apology was insincere. During their news conference, students wore black T-shirts, emblazoned with the quote by Martin Luther King Jr, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
We need to tread carefully as we are not out of the woods yet.
Hong Kong is still undergoing radicalization, and we have a long way to go before the weakening stage is upon us. Events of the past weeks have made it clear that there is still considerable public support for the anti-government movement.
Let us hope that we can safely weather the various stages of the movement before we enter the weakening stage, and then the final rehabilitation point.
We should address the ills of our society and get to the root causes. If we wish to rehabilitate our discontented society and address the deep-seated anguish, then while we punish those who break the law and endanger the public, we must offer help to all others who feel left out by society. We must also endeavor to make Hong Kong an easier and happier place to live in, whether it’s by solving our housing crisis, tackling the widening income and wealth gaps, or addressing the lack of career alternatives for our youth.
We need to encourage our young and discontented population to sublimate their discontent and negative energy into more meaningful activities that will benefit society as a whole.
Meanwhile, I appeal to all to keep alert. If you notice anything or anyone acting strange, stay calm, stay safe, and call for help.
Let us work together to make Hong Kong a better place for all.
The author is president of Wisdom Hong Kong, a think tank.
Source：China Daily ［2021-07-15］
