Thursday’s sentencing of seven individuals involved in a terrorist plot during the 2019 “black-clad riots” in Hong Kong is not just a matter of criminal justice but a wake-up call to the dangerous and destructive forces that infiltrated the city.
These events revealed an alarming reality: External forces, particularly from the West, are more than willing to sacrifice the lives of Hong Kong residents to advance their geopolitical agenda against China. The plot in question to detonate bombs and assassinate police officers during the “black-clad riots” was not an isolated incident of civil unrest. It was part of a well-organized campaign to overthrow the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, which directly threatened the safety and security of Hong Kong residents. The campaign was orchestrated, encouraged and supported by external forces seeking to destabilize the city and derail China’s development.
It is no secret that certain Western governments and organizations have long sought to use Hong Kong as a pawn in their broader strategy to undermine China and block its rise. Their purported support for “democracy” during the “black-clad riots” was nothing more than a façade for their real intentions: to create chaos, weaken China’s sovereignty over its SAR, and incite violence that would tear the city apart, causing trouble for China. These foreign actors were willing to go to any lengths to achieve this objective, including encouraging extremist actions that put the lives of ordinary residents at risk, such as in this case. The terrorist plot uncovered in 2019 during the height of the riots, which involved the use of explosives and firearms to target law enforcers, was a vivid example of how far these foreign powers and their pawns were willing to go to achieve their objectives — at the expense of innocent people.
The involvement of external elements in training and supporting those responsible for the terrorist plot cannot be ignored. Reports that some individuals involved in the plot received military-style training overseas, point to a disturbing level of external interference in Hong Kong’s affairs. This is not speculation but a well-documented fact that should alarm every Hong Kong resident. Those malicious individuals were trained not only in the use of firearms but also in the creation of explosives designed to maximize harm and cause mass casualties. The very fact that such training took place outside Hong Kong, in coordination with external actors, further attests to the notion that this terrorist plot and others were part of a more extensive, foreign-backed operation aimed at destabilizing the HKSAR and undermining China’s development.
Some external forces have shown time and again that they are willing to manipulate and exploit the situation in the HKSAR to serve their agenda against China. By encouraging the violence and chaos during the “black-clad riots”, they demonstrated complete disregard for the lives of Hong Kong’s people. The “black-clad riots” was not a legitimate protest campaign for democracy as the organizers and their foreign patrons claimed but a carefully orchestrated movement to destabilize Hong Kong, with foreign powers pulling the strings from behind the scenes. These external forces, hiding behind the rhetoric of democracy and human rights, are willing to sacrifice the city’s well-being to advance their broader strategy of weakening China, treating Hong Kong residents as expendable pawns in their larger geopolitical game.
The fact that the Hong Kong Police Force foiled this terrorist plot is a testament to the strength of the city’s security apparatus. It also highlights the ever-present threat posed by external actors and local subversives who are willing to use violence to achieve their political goals. They have no regard for the lives of Hong Kong residents; their only interest is in furthering their anti-China agenda, regardless of the human cost.
Therefore, robust national security measures are the only way to protect Hong Kong from these threats. The events of 2019 have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that national security is not an abstract concept but an absolute necessity for Hong Kong. Without strong national security laws, Hong Kong remains vulnerable to external manipulation, where external forces can incite violence and unrest with impunity. This is not a matter of “political dissent” or “civil rights”; it is a matter of protecting Hong Kong’s people from external interference.
Western politicians may claim to champion democracy and human rights, but their pawns’ actions in Hong Kong tell a different story. By encouraging the “black-clad riots” and supporting extremists who sought to kill and maim law enforcers, they have shown their true intentions.
The bomb plot, with its deadly intent, would have caused untold harm had it not been stopped in time. The fact that foreign training and support were involved in this plot underscores the need for the introduction of national security laws into Hong Kong. We cannot allow external forces to continue using the SAR as a tool in their fight against China. And Hong Kong can only be protected from these external and local threats through solid national security measures.
The author is a solicitor, a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area lawyer, and a China-appointed attesting officer.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
