Exclusive | Police looking for more than 700 ‘core’ extradition bill protesters involved in recent clashes in Hong Kong
- Sources say most of those wanted are under the age of 25 and are divided into two groups – one radical and violent, the other providing logistical support
- Police are using image recognition software to identify protesters, most of whom concealed their faces. Several are believed to have already fled the city
Hong Kong police are trying to track down more than 700 core extradition bill protesters believed to be behind recent violent confrontations, including the bloody clashes in a shopping centre last Sunday and the 11-hour trashing of the city’s legislature on July 1, the Post has learned.
Force insiders said most of those wanted are under the age of 25 and include many students from high schools, postsecondary institutions and universities in the city.
One source said several of the protesters had already fled Hong Kong. “They are local residents. Investigations show they left the city to study overseas,” he said.
Earlier, activists in Taiwan had said more than 30 protesters, including some involved in the storming of the Legislative Council building, had fled to the self-ruled island.
Among those who fled the city is Brian Leung Kai-ping, 25, who was the only protester to deliberately reveal his face in the main chamber of the Legislative Council building on July 1, as he urged others to stay after storming the building.
The sources said the core figures had been taught how to use face masks, helmets, gloves and goggles to hide their identities, how to daub surveillance cameras with paint and to use hand signals for on-site communication, making it difficult for local police to trace them and gather evidence.