ExplainerIs Hong Kong turning into a breeding ground for terrorism? How authorities assess the security threat after week of high-profile arrests

The city’s No 2 official John Lee warned this week the city was showing signs of fostering extremists bent on violence

Here is a look at the string of arrests that authorities have made over the past week that have been viewed as evidence for the claim

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Evidence seized during raids on Monday that foiled an alleged terror plot. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00am, 8 Jul 2021Updated: 10:00am, 8 Jul 2021

Hong Kong’s No 2 official delivered a stark warning this week: a city long celebrated as one of the safest in the world was now showing signs of breeding terrorist activities.

The assessment by Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday came in the wake of a series of arrests after a police constable was stabbed by a man in a busy shopping district on July 1, in what security officials described as an act of “lone-wolf” domestic terrorism. The man died soon after of a self-inflicted wound.

Authorities have arrested at least 14 individuals in several major cases since the stabbing. They were related to an arson attack at Government House, online messages inciting others to attack officers and an alleged terrorist plot to bomb courts, tunnels and streets.

Here are the details of the cases and how officials have assessed the security risks the city is facing.

Police at the scene of the ‘lone-wolf’ attack, where a man stabbed a constable in a busy shopping district, earlier this month. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

How did the stabbing occur?

Shortly after 10pm on July 1 as the city marked the 24th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty, the assailant walked up behind a constable outside the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay and pulled out a knife which he plunged into the officer’s back.