Although the city’s terrorist threat remains “low”, the Public Security Forces will further strengthen their assessment of possible security risk factors and improve their law enforcement efforts, the Office of the Secretariat for Security said in a statement yesterday.
The office said it decided to issue the statement in response to recent media reports about possible terrorist attacks in Macau.
The South China Morning Post recently published an article which quoted a Hong Kong-based risk security consultancy as suggesting that “Macau’s gaming sector offered a ‘nexus of Chinese, American and Jewish interests’ that a terror group would find particularly appealing”.
The report also quoted the consultancy, Steve Vickers & Associates, as saying that terrorism was an “understated threat” in Macau, which “represents a unique agglomeration of Chinese, American and Jewish interests, engaged alongside triad society in an activity [gambling] that Islamists deem sinful. Worse, the city is vulnerable.”
Yesterday’s statement by the office of Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak reassured the public that the local police forces are working hard to reinforce their public security measures at border checkpoints, tourist attractions and other “important” places.
According to the statement, the local police forces are also reinforcing their exchange of intelligence with neighbouring regions and countries and improving their immigration control measures.
The statement said that the city’s various police forces were determined to ensure that Macau’s sustainable development as an international tourism and leisure centre can take place in a safe and secure environment.
