Hong Kong still faces underlying threats from ‘soft confrontations’, warns outgoing head of police’s National Security Department

Edwina Lau, deputy police commissioner overseeing national security, says anthem blunders classic examples of ‘soft confrontations’

She also pushes back against suggestions that force’s new protest measures had curbed free speech

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Edwina Lau, deputy police commissioner overseeing national security, was appointed to her role on July 3, 2020, and Friday will be her last day in office. Photo: Jelly Tse

Published: 7:00am, 28 Apr 2023

Hong Kong still faces underlying threats, with a series of anthem blunders a classic example of “soft confrontations” carried out by those who wish to attack both the country and city, the retiring head of police’s National Security Department has said.

Edwina Lau Chi-wai, deputy police commissioner overseeing national security, also pushed back against suggestions that the force’s latest protest regulation measures had curbed free speech, arguing that “people with ulterior motives” were “distorting” ideas.

Lau, 57, was officially appointed as the force’s first national security chief on July 3, 2020, and her final day in office was scheduled for Friday. She took up the reins just three days after the Beijing-imposed national security law took effect in Hong Kong.

In an interview with local media, including the Post, she called her appointment a “lifetime honour” and urged her successor to maintain a “fighting spirit” because the national security unit would continue to face stormy waters ahead.

“While it’s not as chaotic as the protester violence back in 2019, we feel that there are still some hidden undercurrents,” Lau said, echoing a warning from Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, during his fact-finding visit to the city.

Many “traitors” had continued to collude with “foreign forces” in attacking the nation and Hong Kong after leaving the city, while “soft confrontations” continued to stir up trouble, Lau said.

Retiring head of police national security unit Edwina Lau at a police event this month. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

She pointed to a “colourful” children’s book series released two years ago that depicted sheep defending their turf from invading wolves as an example of such soft confrontations. Five people behind the series were convicted of sedition last year.