Man found with ingredients for smoke bomb at Legco copyright rally: Lighters, masks, gloves also found
Police stop man heading to anti-copyright rally with 1kg of potassium chlorate
Police have found an explosive ingredient on a 20-year old student they said was heading towards the heavily secured rally at the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
The man was detained after police found on him a kilogram of potassium chlorate, locally dubbed “smoke cake”, in eight separate pieces, Senior inspector Clement Li Ka-ming of Hong Kong Island Regional Crime Unit said.
“Burning just two grams of the chemical will make a large amount of white smoke. So you can imagine how it could stir up panic in a crowd if 1 kg of it was burned,” Li said.
It is also an ingredient in gunpowder and fireworks and creates intense flame. Instructions to make and use the chemical can be found on YouTube.
WATCH: A gas canister rips through a Legco rubbish bin a week ago, setting security on edge
Police stopped the man at the Admiralty Centre while he was walking towards the Tamar Park area where a small gas canister was used to destroy a rubbish bin a week ago in a fiery explosion.
READ MORE: Manhunt begins after explosion outside Hong Kong legislature
Police said burning just two grams of the chemical could create a substantial amount of smoke.
Lighters, surgical masks, head masks, gloves and clothes were also found on the man.
WATCH: Potassium Chlorate in action
Protest inside and out of Legco
Scrutiny of Hong Kong’s contentious copyright bill had to be postponed for the second time in two weeks last night after hours of delaying tactics by filibustering pan-democrat lawmakers, leaving the government with a last chance today to have the law tabled by year’s end.
Braving the cold weather outside the Legislative Council building under heightened security, hundreds who opposed the bill attended a rally that descended into chaos in the evening as they vented their frustrations — not at the pro-establishment camp but at the Democratic Party.
Chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing, after giving a speech at the rally, was mobbed by protesters angered by the party for distancing itself from the filibustering by pan-democrat colleagues.
WATCH: Lawmakers mobbed outside Legco
The quorum bell was rung 21 times, taking up four hours of the nine-hour session.
Commerce minister Greg So Kam-leung, trying to avoid a repeat of last week’s adjournment because not enough members were present, kept sending messages to government allies in the chamber to plead for their attendance.
The six oral questions by Legco members to government officials took nearly eight hours to complete because of lengthy arguments between questions. This session normally lasts two hours.
The Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 is expected to be tabled this morning, followed by an immediate motion from pan-democrats to call for its adjournment, a move that the Liberal Party has vowed to back but that still requires three more votes from the pro-establishment side.
Speaking after yesterday’s meeting, So urged lawmakers to block the motion.
READ MORE: Legco copyright protest: 600 police spent quiet day in Tamar Park, outnumbering protesters
Backers of the legislation insist the amendments are long overdue to bring it up to date to fight piracy, but opponents fear it will curb freedom of expression, especially on the internet.
Radical lawmaker Wong Yuk-man said he expected a vote on the bill to come as late as the end of next month and called on demonstrators to continue exerting pressure on the government.
Organisers estimated up to 700 people gathered in the demonstration area after 7pm. Lawmakers took turns to give speeches, while protesters watched examples of videos adapted from original works that they fear will run foul of the amended law.
WATCH: Youngspiration’s Baggio Leung Chung-hang, 29, on why he is protesting
“The law is against the global development of creativity,” said protester Calvin Wong, a sociology master’s student.
“I’m afraid Hong Kong is losing its internet freedom like on the mainland,” said 59-year-old protester Alexandra Wong Fung-yiu, who has lived in Shenzhen for a decade.
Copyright owner groups have called for the bill’s passage, saying the existing legal provisions are outdated.
Peter Lam Yuk-wah, spokesman for the Hong Kong Copyright Alliance, said no amendment by the pan-democrats should be adopted.
Additional reporting by Jeffie Lam
