Chris Tang calls ‘soft resistance’ top security threat
HKFP · 1 SOURCESabout 5 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang said on Monday that “soft resistance” is the “most malicious” threat to national security in the city. Speaking in a Commercial Radio interview, he said the danger of “soft resistance” was that people might not recognise it as harmful and could even see it as coming from “a good person.”
Key Points
- Tang said Hong Kong faces “four great national security risks”: foreign interference, domestic terrorist activities, fugitives spreading “Hong Kong independence ideology,” and “soft resistance.”
- In the Commercial Radio interview on Monday, Tang said “soft resistance” was the most malicious because its dangers were less obvious than the other threats.
- Tang said that if conduct was not illegal, authorities should first consider its intentions, while illegal acts should be dealt with through enforcement action.
- He did not define the term further or give examples, though officials have repeatedly cited “soft resistance” as a national security threat since 2021.
- Tang also said the four threats continue to operate mainly in society’s “undercurrents,” while national security police chief Andrew Kan warned last week that challenges had become more invisible.
Why It Matters
Tang’s remarks indicate that Hong Kong officials are continuing to frame less clearly defined forms of expression or influence as security concerns, even without offering a precise public definition of “soft resistance.” That could affect how residents, organisations and public institutions judge speech, intent and acceptable conduct under the city’s national security framework.