‘We cannot tell the world Hong Kong grooms local terrorists’ says government source, with officials wary of devastating consequences label might cause
- Violence meets definition of ‘terrorist acts’ according to local and international laws
- But government fears using designation would only make situation in the city worse and bring sanctions and financial penalties
The violent actions of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong last week ticked all the boxes of “terrorist acts” as defined by international and local laws, multiple senior government sources told the Post.
But the administration has no plans to officially designate protesters as terrorists to avoid the devastating consequences such a decision could trigger.
“We cannot possibly tell the world that Hong Kong grooms local terrorists, hundreds of them,” one senior official said, adding the heat of US-China trade war made the matter even more sensitive.
“It does not help the current situation and will cause public panic. We would also face an avalanche of consequences such as sanctions, disinvestment and a downgrade of credit rating. Our image would be torn up further.”
