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Hong Kong’s coming Legislative Council poll at higher risk for violence than Election Committee vote, security chief says
- Secretary for Security Chris Tang cites the much larger number of voters and polling places in the December election
- He also points to recent events such as the July stabbing of a police officer and what he describes as ‘activities by terrorist groups’
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Hong Kong’s security chief on Saturday warned that the coming Legislative Council poll was at higher risk for violence than the recent one for the powerful Election Committee.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung cited the much larger pool of voters, and also pointed to recent events such as the July stabbing of a police officer and what he described as “activities by terrorist groups” in predicting the December poll had a greater potential for mishaps.
Police deployed up to 6,000 officers for last Sunday’s election, with security personnel outnumbering the 4,900 voters eligible to take part in the poll – the city’s first under a system overhaul imposed by Beijing to ensure only “patriots” held power.
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But unlike the Election Committee vote, the Legco one will involve more than 600 polling places and some 4.5 million electors in the geographical constituencies.
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“Maybe [holding] election campaigns will see risks. As you remember from the district council election back in November in 2019, many people were attacked by others who held different views. They therefore did not dare to go out to campaign,” Tang said on a radio programme on Saturday, vowing to step up intelligence gathering and arrange enough manpower to ensure a safe and orderly vote.
The same tactics, he said, would also be applied to National Day next Friday, when the city was expected to hold a number of celebratory events.
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