Pictured: Masked suspects hunted by Hong Kong police over Legco blast
Admiralty site will see heightened security next week for planned protest against copyright bill
Police are looking for more than 10 people after an explosion outside the Legislative Council building in Admiralty on Wednesday night, which has prompted a security clampdown that will see hundreds of officers guarding the premises when scrutiny of the controversial copyright bill resumes next week.
Lawmakers from across the spectrum jointly condemned the violent action, while opponents of the Copyright Amendment Bill rallied online to distance themselves from the blast, which happened hours after the second reading of the bill was deferred because there were too few lawmakers in attendance.
While a major rally against the bill that was expected to draw thousands of protesters was cancelled as well that day, the blast that followed has sent alarm bells ringing because of the rarity of such an incident, which was not seen even during the height of last year's Occupy protests.
READ MORE: Manhunt begins after explosion outside Hong Kong legislature
The copyright bill is seen by critics as a tool to curb freedom of expression and creativity, despite the government's assurances that there will be exemptions to protect such freedoms.
The government is under pressure to close loopholes in the existing law to prevent piracy and bring it in line with international standards.
A police source on Thursday said the force, which deployed up to 300 officers on Wednesday when the debate on the bill was supposed to begin, would dispatch more officers next Wednesday.
WATCH: Footage of the explosion shot as it happened at Legco
Legco president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing said police officers would be invited to stand by outside the legislative complex, and the number of people allowed inside the building to watch the proceedings from the public gallery would be reduced from the usual 30 to just 10.
READ MORE: Hong Kong copyright bill explained: Why are people so concerned about this?
Protest organisers plan to recruit more marshals next week to control the crowd, which they expect to include up to 20,000 people.
In their hunt for perpetrators of the blast, police last night released CCTV footage showing two men in surgical masks who were seen igniting objects and hurling them into a rubbish bin in the demonstration zone outside the Legco building at about 8.30pm on Wednesday. One of the objects was an LPG canister of the type used for cooking, which exploded, sources said.
Initial investigation showed the two men were among a group of about 10 people at the demonstration zone, one person with the knowledge of the investigation said on Thursday. Most of them were wearing hooded sweatshirts and surgical face masks, and some had sunglasses on to hide their identities.
"Some of them activated a break-glass fire alarm near a public toilet outside Legco and some pushed down metal barriers nearby one or two minutes before the blast happened," the source said.
"The gas canister exploded due to the blaze's intense heat," another source said. "Initial investigation found no indication to suggest it was an attempt to harm anyone. Otherwise, the gas canister would not have been set alight inside a rubbish bin."
The Legco president revealed security cameras showed there were some 20 people gathering in the area since around 6pm on Wednesday. Legco staff said they had a "very hostile" attitude and they did not look like the "cooperative" organisers of the cancelled rally, he added.
Keyboard Frontline spokesman Kafka Luk Kwun-yu, who is co-organising the rally against the bill, suggested the blast was "just a prank" and the rally would be cancelled if violence broke out.
