Hong Kong Police File photo:Xinhua

The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) National Security Department has so far received over 180,000 messages reporting possible clues for national security issues, and it has vowed to push forward an all-out campaign in mobilizing the residents in joining the counter-terrorism work, according to a statement the HKPF sent to the Global Times on Tuesday night. 

Hong Kong has been on high alert against lone-wolf terrorist attacks despite that the social order had been restored under the national security law for Hong Kong and the electoral reform. The HKPF National Security Department has collected more than 180,000 messages since it established a hotline for reporting messages related to the national security on November 5, 2020. 

While the level of terrorist threat in Hong Kong remains moderate, the police will continue moderating the possible trend of terrorist activities to make coordinated evaluation and mobilize counter-terrorism resources strategically, including dispatching more staff to make high-profile patrol in populated areas to ensure proper and effective measures against extreme violence and terrorist activities, according to the statement. 

Raymond Siu, police commissioner of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), was quoted as saying in local media reports on Sunday that the police force will expand its intelligence network and strengthen its attention to those who incite violence on the internet. He called on the public to report to the police immediately if they find anyone who may engage in radical acts, in order to protect Hong Kong by an all-out counter-terrorism campaign.

Counter-terrorism is not only the work of the law-enforcement departments but a collaboration with the public, the HKPF said. To further expand the intelligence network, the Inter-department Counter Terrorism Unit has pushed forward the participation of government departments and communities in order to reach the target of an "all-out counter-terrorism" campaign.  

For instance, the unit has come up with a project to educate residents on how to identify and report suspicious personal, object and activity related to terrorism, the police noted.