Hong Kong police 'must be ready to combat terrorism'

Global terrorism has evolved and Hong Kong police need to change their approach to combat the phenomenon, the force's counterterrorism expert says.

All the city's more than 28,000 officers, regardless of rank, have a crucial part to play in protecting Hong Kong from a terrorist attack because of "unpredictable threats", especially from so-called "lone-wolf" operators, according to Superintendent Francis Shun Leung.

Leung, who heads the force's counterterrorism and internal security division, also suggested it needed to carry out more counterterrorism exercises around "critical infrastructure" such as the MTR and the airport.

Leung's views were published in a paper this month after he returned from a four-month stint as a visiting fellow at the Centre for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, part of the Brookings Institute think tank based in Washington.

Leung's paper, entitled "Standing up to Modern Terrorism", details how Hong Kong has ramped up its counterterrorism efforts in recent years by establishing new, specialised units alongside existing ones, such as the explosive ordinance disposal bureau, airport security, and the special duties unit, which is modelled on Britain's SAS.

However, he warned of overreliance on specialised units, which were "largely responsive in nature" and could lead to an "inevitable operational time gap".