Police seize explosives at storehouse used by pro-independence group Hong Kong National Front

RT
Mon, 22 Jul 2019 16:51 UTC

© Reuters/Tyrone Siu

Police stand guard at Hong Kong's tourism district Tsim Sha Tsui during anti-extradition bill protest, China July 7, 2019.

One person was arrested after Hong Kong police discovered a stash of explosives and weapons, stored along with banners and clothes bearing the emblem of the Hong Kong National Front (HKNF) party, in a raid on Friday night.

Police said Saturday a bomb disposal unit was called to a warehouse belonging to the pro-independence group to carry out a controlled detonation of the highly unstable substance tri-acetone tri-peroxide (TATP). A total of two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of TATP was discovered by the police, in addition to 10 incendiary devices, acidic substances, and sharp tools that could be used as weapons, the Hong Kong Free Press reported.

The HKNF acknowledged the arrest of one of its members, who was identified as a 27-year-old man, but denied any prior knowledge of the weapons haul, insisting the storage site was used exclusively for sound equipment and leaflets.

Police described the explosives as "extremely sensitive and extremely powerful" with the potential to inflict "exceptional amounts of damage when used" and the cache itself as the "largest seizure" in Hong Kong history. The HKNF is a small pro-independence party that calls for "armed resistance against the Communist China regime."

The incident comes just ahead of an opposition rally planned for Sunday.

Comment: The conflict over the changing relations between Hong Kong and China has been brewing since 2014 when the US began funding an "Occupy"-style movement in Hong Kong. The West is losing its grip on another colony and is becoming desperate.

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More on the protests and counter-protests in Hong Kong:

Tens of thousands of people showed up for a rally in support of police officers in Hong Kong days after a video emerged showing protesters brutally beating a riot cop. Several Chinese flags were spotted in the crowd.

The rally on Saturday evening drew in thousands of locals, including representatives of local minorities, immigrants and celebrities. Some reportedly travelled from the mainland to take part in the massive protest in Tamar Park on Saturday evening.

Turnout estimates vary dramatically between the police and the 70 or so pro-government activists and public personalities who organized the protest. While the organizers said that 316,000 people took to the streets on Saturday, police put the number at 103,000.

The rally ended with a call for unity and against violence. "We don't want violence. We don't want a split. We want rule of law, peace, stability and unity!" the organizers said in a joint statement, the South China Morning Post reported.

The rally was convened shortly after family members of 60 police officers penned an open letter to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, calling on the government to launch an inquiry into the recent unrest and refrain from using police officers as "human shields" that are "forced to bear the consequences of the government's maladministration."

Hong Kong has been gripped by protests over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed the former British colony to hand over criminal suspects to mainland China. Police have been heavily criticized for their ham-fisted approach to tackling the unrest. Initially peaceful demonstrations over the extradition bill quickly spiraled into violence and saw multiple fierce clashes between police and demonstrators, whom Lam described as "rioters."

Earlier this week, a video went viral showing a group of protesters kicking a policeman down an escalator during Sunday's demonstration in a mall in Hong Kong's Sha Tin district.