Ironic that the self-professed leader of the 'war on terrorism' is itself sponsoring terrorism in HK. US hypocrisy has never been more blatant and in-your-face.
By Nuri Vitachi:
ANTI-CHINA PROTESTERS in Hong Kong were flown to Taiwan for military training before returning with plans to kill people with bombs and firearms, a court heard yesterday. They tested their equipment in rural Sai Kung, but planned to launch a terrorist-style attack in densely packed Wan Chai.
.
Each bomb could be set off with a single phone call.
.
The largest was packed with so many nails that it alone would have caused “severe casualties and property loss within a 400 meter radius” according to a ballistics report cited at the trial yesterday.
.
The explosions would be accompanied by attacks from gunmen and people throwing petrol bombs.
.
Police were the main targets, but it was inevitable that other people would be killed or injured. “The damage these bombs might have caused would have been indiscriminate,” prosecutor Juliana Chow Hoi-ling told the court yesterday.
.
The attack, slated for the second week of December 2019, was foiled by police hours before it was put into action.
.
JURY TRIAL
A nine-person jury was commissioned to hear the case yesterday at the High Court in Hong Kong, and the prosecution began its opening statement.
.
Senior members of the operation have already pleaded guilty to the plot, which has been detailed at earlier hearings. The present trial focuses on the culpability or otherwise of other individuals involved.
.
Cheung Chun-fu, Cheung Ming-yu, Christian Lee Ka-tin, Lai Chun-pong, Justin Hui Cham-wing and Yim Man-him jointly face a change of conspiracy to commit bombing under United Nations Anti-Terrorism ordinances, and Lau Pui-ying faces a charge of “providing or collecting property to commit terrorist acts”.
.
RECAP: EARLIER CASES
The plot was coordinated in August of 2019 on a Telegram group called Dragonteam, according to earlier hearings and related reports. The budget of HK$4 million for the operation was attributed to “crowdfunding”.
.
In September, members were flown out of Hong Kong for training, but how the international/ Taiwan element was organized has not been revealed, nor details of who gave them military-level training. It is known that they were paid for their employment.
.
In the middle of November, members went to an isolated hill in Sai Kung to test the guns. Reports indicate that an AR-15 automatic assault rifle was obtained as well as other firearms.
.
The plan featured the classic two-bomb technique favored by terrorists. A smaller bomb was set to go off first, buried in soil on the botanical divider in Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, causing victims to flee into the path of the larger bomb, 50 to 100 meters closer to Admiralty. Police were the main intended victims.
.
An overhead sniper and other gunmen, were also set to attack police officers, while others would fire-bomb shops or restaurants in the area judged to be China-friendly.
.
One of the local leaders of the plot, Wong Chun-keung, who pleaded guilty, is expected to testify in the present trial. Other members of the group, Ng Chi-hung and Eddie Pang Kwan-ho, also pleaded guilty earlier stage, and may also be called to the stand.
.
CONTEXT
Despite being white-washed as "pro-democracy protests" by mainstream media, the 2019 anti-China insurgency was extremely violent.
.
There were at least 14 cases in which protesters were found to have been handling explosives, including TATP (triacetone triperoxide), an explosive used in tragic large-scale terrorism cases in Sri Lanka and London.
.
Almost all Hong Kong’s MTR transit stations were attacked, with a HK$1.6 billion (US$206 million) repair bill.
.
Engineers said the length of metal public safety railings ripped up to be turned into improvised weapons or barricades was more than 60 kilometers.
.
The repair bill for Polytechnic University alone came to HK$700 million.
.
The total bill for setting the city back to rights was beyond calculation, with numerous shops burned, cars destroyed, businesses closed and offices trashed.
.
But that’s just money. Far worse was the damage to society, which lost its crown as one of the most peaceful places on earth. People with mainland accents were beaten up on the streets, destroying our community’s biggest source of tourism income, and our society was left riven by mistrust--and desperately in need of legal recourses to stop this happening again.
.
In a classic case of “blame the victim”, the western politicians and news media blamed Hong Kong government for the problems, and hit it with numerous sanctions.
By Nuri Vitachi:
ANTI-CHINA PROTESTERS in Hong Kong were flown to Taiwan for military training before returning with plans to kill people with bombs and firearms, a court heard yesterday. They tested their equipment in rural Sai Kung, but planned to launch a terrorist-style attack in densely packed Wan Chai.
.
Each bomb could be set off with a single phone call.
.
The largest was packed with so many nails that it alone would have caused “severe casualties and property loss within a 400 meter radius” according to a ballistics report cited at the trial yesterday.
.
The explosions would be accompanied by attacks from gunmen and people throwing petrol bombs.
.
Police were the main targets, but it was inevitable that other people would be killed or injured. “The damage these bombs might have caused would have been indiscriminate,” prosecutor Juliana Chow Hoi-ling told the court yesterday.
.
The attack, slated for the second week of December 2019, was foiled by police hours before it was put into action.
.
JURY TRIAL
A nine-person jury was commissioned to hear the case yesterday at the High Court in Hong Kong, and the prosecution began its opening statement.
.
Senior members of the operation have already pleaded guilty to the plot, which has been detailed at earlier hearings. The present trial focuses on the culpability or otherwise of other individuals involved.
.
Cheung Chun-fu, Cheung Ming-yu, Christian Lee Ka-tin, Lai Chun-pong, Justin Hui Cham-wing and Yim Man-him jointly face a change of conspiracy to commit bombing under United Nations Anti-Terrorism ordinances, and Lau Pui-ying faces a charge of “providing or collecting property to commit terrorist acts”.
.
RECAP: EARLIER CASES
The plot was coordinated in August of 2019 on a Telegram group called Dragonteam, according to earlier hearings and related reports. The budget of HK$4 million for the operation was attributed to “crowdfunding”.
.
In September, members were flown out of Hong Kong for training, but how the international/ Taiwan element was organized has not been revealed, nor details of who gave them military-level training. It is known that they were paid for their employment.
.
In the middle of November, members went to an isolated hill in Sai Kung to test the guns. Reports indicate that an AR-15 automatic assault rifle was obtained as well as other firearms.
.
The plan featured the classic two-bomb technique favored by terrorists. A smaller bomb was set to go off first, buried in soil on the botanical divider in Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, causing victims to flee into the path of the larger bomb, 50 to 100 meters closer to Admiralty. Police were the main intended victims.
.
An overhead sniper and other gunmen, were also set to attack police officers, while others would fire-bomb shops or restaurants in the area judged to be China-friendly.
.
One of the local leaders of the plot, Wong Chun-keung, who pleaded guilty, is expected to testify in the present trial. Other members of the group, Ng Chi-hung and Eddie Pang Kwan-ho, also pleaded guilty earlier stage, and may also be called to the stand.
.
CONTEXT
Despite being white-washed as "pro-democracy protests" by mainstream media, the 2019 anti-China insurgency was extremely violent.
.
There were at least 14 cases in which protesters were found to have been handling explosives, including TATP (triacetone triperoxide), an explosive used in tragic large-scale terrorism cases in Sri Lanka and London.
.
Almost all Hong Kong’s MTR transit stations were attacked, with a HK$1.6 billion (US$206 million) repair bill.
.
Engineers said the length of metal public safety railings ripped up to be turned into improvised weapons or barricades was more than 60 kilometers.
.
The repair bill for Polytechnic University alone came to HK$700 million.
.
The total bill for setting the city back to rights was beyond calculation, with numerous shops burned, cars destroyed, businesses closed and offices trashed.
.
But that’s just money. Far worse was the damage to society, which lost its crown as one of the most peaceful places on earth. People with mainland accents were beaten up on the streets, destroying our community’s biggest source of tourism income, and our society was left riven by mistrust--and desperately in need of legal recourses to stop this happening again.
.
In a classic case of “blame the victim”, the western politicians and news media blamed Hong Kong government for the problems, and hit it with numerous sanctions.
