9 arrested in Hong Kong bombing plot

A total of nine people, including six secondary school students, were reportedly arrested in connection to an alleged bomb plot in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

According to The Associated Press, police say the suspects, who were detained under a national security law established in 2019 as a result of pro-democracy protests, planned to detonate bombs in tunnels, courts and trash cans around the city.

They range in age from 15 and 39, senior superintendent Li Kwai-wah of the Hong Kong Police National Security Department told the AP. Police accuse them of plotting the bombing in an effort “to maximize damage caused to the society.”

The AP reports the group is thought to be part of a radical fringe of the Hong Kong protest movement, which has continued to push for democratic freedoms in the wake of crackdowns ordered by Beijing.

Police say the nine attempted to make triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, explosives in a hostel.

Officials said that they confiscated raw materials used to make TATP and a “trace amount” of explosive, as well as nearly 80,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash and operating manuals.

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam called on the public to “openly condemn threats of violence” in a weekly news briefing, according to the AP.

“They should not be wrongly influenced by the idea that … breaking the law is in order, if you’re trying to achieve a certain cause,” she said. “They should not be influenced into thinking that they can find excuses to inflict violence.”

Lam also said on Tuesday that an envelope of “white powder” had been sent to her office. Police are reportedly analyzing the substance but do not believe it to be dangerous.