Homegrown terrorism is a threat in Hong Kong and is showing signs of “going underground,” a police officer in charge of anti-terrorism duties has said.

Leung Wai-ki, senior superintendent at Hong Kong’s Inter-departmental Counter Terrorism Unit, said the public should be alert to the threat of terrorism, which he blamed on the 2019 pro-democracy protest movement.

The unit had set up an online reporting system for the public to inform authorities about non-urgent cases of suspected terrorism, Leung said in interviews with local media. The reporting system is found on the unit’s official website, which was launched in May, two years after the formation of the team in April 2018.

Leung said homegrown terrorism in Hong Kong had shown signs of becoming “covert” and going underground. The unit would train security and property management personnel in high-risk areas to help them identify terror threats, he added.

According to the government, Hong Kong’s current terrorist threat level is “moderate.”

Members of the counter-terrorism unit come from the police force, the correctional services, customs and excise, fire services and immigration departments, and the Government Flying Service. It has 49 members.

Principal Immigration Officer Bryan Ip said his department conducted more than 3,000 checks at border control points last year and stopped more than 7,000 people for questioning. Immigration officers would step up inspection to deter terrorists from entering Hong Kong, he said.

Wade Wong, a senior division officer at the Fire Services Department, said firefighters had acquired new equipment, such as the Gasmet DX4040 FTIR Gas Analyzer, to tackle toxic gas incidents. The department would also undertake spot checks on dangerous chemical warehouses and hardware stores.

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