Police ride motorcycle in a drill held in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province on August 6,with helicopters hovering over head. Photo: Courtesy of Shenzhen police

China's Minister of Public Security Monday pledged to prevent and crack down on violent and terrorist activities, as well as infiltrative and subversive activities to safeguard China's political security "south gate" during his trip to South China's Guangdong Province. 

Guangdong Province leads China in provincial GDP volume and is adjacent to Hong Kong where protests have entered their 12th consecutive week. 

State Councilor Zhao Kezhi, also Minister of Public Security, urged the Guangdong police to form a clear picture of the situation and challenges so as to defend the national political security. 

His speech also aimed to serve as a pep talk for police forces in Guangdong to prepare for the upcoming 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Zhao encouraged the police forces to integrate information technology such as big data and cloud computing into their policing practices.

He also affirmed the police's contribution to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and credited intelligence-led policing for providing more convenience to residents from Hong Kong and Macao. 

Hong Kong has been a hotbed for some secessionists and foreign forces who want to conduct subversive activities on the Chinese mainland, Fan Peng, a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macao Studies, told the Global Times.

Given Hong Kong's situation, it was urgent to take measures to prevent negative consequences spreading to the Chinese mainland, Fan said. 

The chaos in Hong Kong has disturbed residents from both the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Fan said. 

Mainland internet users have lambasted Hong Kong protesters' violence and called for an immediate stop to the chaos. 

Fan said that subversive forces in some countries usually take the opportunity of mayhem and amplify its influence in order to cajole the masses into participating. 

Some in Hong Kong also wanted to deploy the same method to infiltrate the Chinese mainland, he said. 

However, those forces in Hong Kong underestimated the Chinese central government and HKSAR government's governing ability and the public's patriotic enthusiasm, Fan said.

The "forces' deeds have backfired" Fan said as internet users have said online that turbulence in Hong Kong actually pulls people together on the Chinese mainland.

On August 6, 12,000 police officers in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, participated in a social stability drill to boost morale and prepare for the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. 

The drill was hailed by some internet users for focusing on emergency scenarios that resembled the ongoing riots in adjacent Hong Kong. 

On August 12, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said that radical protesters' attacks on police officers with dangerous weapons were a crime that showed signs of terrorism and such crimes must be dealt with resolutely and in accordance with the law.


Newspaper headline: Police chief vows to safeguard ‘south gate’