Police guard outside the high court in Hong Kong on Aug 27, 2021. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)

HONG KONG - Warning that extremists have gone underground, the Hong Kong Police Force is set to launch on Wednesday a new counter-terrorism hotline to encourage the public to provide intelligence on terrorism and promote the “Spot and Report” campaign.

The government said in a statement that the “Counter-terrorism (CT) Reporting Hotline 63-666-999” will initially have SMS and WeChat reporting features and later include other reporting channels. The police are also planning to provide rewards to those who give reliable information against terrorist plots.

The “Counter-terrorism (CT) Reporting Hotline 63-666-999” will initially include SMS and WeChat reporting features and later have other reporting channels. The police are also planning to provide rewards to those who give reliable information against terrorist plots

“Apart from violent acts, the public may also report suspected terrorism-related activities around them, in particular extremist plots, via this upgraded hotline,” the statement reads.

“Reporting such acts without delay will prevent and combat extremist activities more effectively. The public will also be able to protect themselves, their relatives and friends,” it added.

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The police had  launched an anti-violence hotline during the social unrest in 2019. After the National Security Law took effect in mid-2020, Hong Kong’s law and order situation has generally returned to normal. 

However, the police noted that the activities of local extremists have turned underground and become more covert.

In July 2021, police smashed a domestic radical group whose members had attempted to attack major public facilities with explosives and hidden their “bomb-making laboratory” in a unit in a rental guesthouse, the government said.

Last month, the police arrested a number of people suspected of disseminating violent remarks online, attempting to make lethal weapons and plotting violent attacks. Different weapons and large batches of equipment and raw materials for manufacturing explosives were also seized during operation. 

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“All these illustrated that local extremists are hidden in the community and they remain a potential threat to the security in Hong Kong,” the government said.

To help deal with these threats, the police upgraded the anti-violence hotline to the CT Reporting Hotline managed by the Inter-departmental Counter-Terrorism Unit.

The launch of CT Reporting Hotline and rewards for CT-related reports demonstrates the determination of police in fighting against any form of terrorist activities, according to the statement.