Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, Tang Ping-keung, has singled out “soft resistance” as an especially difficult national-security risk to recognise, saying people may see those involved as good while missing what he described as harmful intent.
Speaking on a radio programme on the morning of 21 September, Tang said Hong Kong continued to face four broad risks: pressure or interference from external forces, local terrorist activity, overseas fugitives promoting or disparaging Hong Kong-independence ideas, and soft resistance.
He described the risks as persistent “hidden currents” and said people were repeatedly testing the boundary of what was permissible. Tang urged the public to think carefully and distinguish right from wrong, saying that where conduct was not illegal, people should examine the intention behind it; where it became illegal, action should be taken.
Tang said the government had a responsibility to tell society the truth. He contrasted the current situation with the 2019 “black violence” period, saying Hong Kong now had laws to follow and a stable society, while national-security challenges remained important.
He also said everyone could become part of a “rebuttal team” by joining efforts to tell the truth.