The Hong Kong Police Force’s national security department took over the investigation into the stabbing of a police officer on Thursday and cautioned residents of the territory from mourning the attacker’s death, calling the incident a domestic terrorist attack on the 24th anniversary of the former British colony’s return to Chinese rule.
The department, which investigates offenses that endanger national security, is probing the incident that occurred on a busy street in one of Hong Kong’s most popular shopping districts. The attacker, an unnamed 50-year-old man who local media said worked for a soy milk maker, allegedly used a knife to wound a male police officer from behind before turning it on himself.
The attack, caught on video, has put a spotlight on the growing tensions between residents and the police, which has been criticized for employing excessive force during democracy protests that roiled the territory before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: AFP
Police and Hong Kong government officials have condemned the attack, as well as online comments that they say glorify and mourn the perpetrator as a hero.
“Advocating members of the public to mourn for the attacker is no different from supporting terrorism,” the government said in a statement yesterday. “It will incite further hatred, divide the society, and eventually breach social order and endanger public safety, threatening every one in Hong Kong.”
The department said it would investigate whether the attacker had any accomplices or whether he was incited by others to commit the crime, warning that the internet is not “beyond the law.”
Soy milk producer Vitasoy pledged to support the investigation after the attacker was reported by local media to be a staff member.
However, the firm has become the latest target of Chinese social media users’ calls for a boycott after an employee circulated a memo online offering condolences to the family of the attacker.
In a statement on the Chinese microblogging platform Sina Weibo, Vitasoy said on Saturday that a staff member had circulated the memo, which it described as “extremely inappropriate” and without authorization, adding that it reserved the right to take legal action.
“What this employee wrote should not have been made public and should not have been published internally,” the company said. “Vitasoy Group sincerely apologizes for any troubles or grievances this has caused. We support Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity, stability and development.”
The worker’s memo triggered a flood of online calls for a boycott of Vitasoy, which gets two-thirds of its revenue from mainland China.
The hashtag “#Vitasoygetoutofthemainland” has garnered almost 100 million views.
On Friday, people went to the scene of the attack, some with children, to pay their respects to the attacker and lay flowers.
Chinese actor Gong Jun (龔俊), who previously endorsed a Vitasoy product, late on Friday announced that he was ending commercial cooperation with the company, state-run tabloid the Global Times reported.
His announcement followed that of another Chinese actor, Ren Jialun (任嘉倫), who said he was also ceasing cooperation with Vitasoy, the newspaper added.
Fashion retailer H&M on Thursday said that its sales took a hit in China after it voiced concerns over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, leading to a social media-inspired boycott by shoppers.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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