Retiring deputy police commissioner Andrew Kan Kai-yan has said artificial intelligence (AI) poses a new threat to national security in Hong Kong, with the force turning to the emerging technology to help combat the issue.
Kan raised the alarm after state security minister Chen Yixin warned last week of rising national security risks posed by AI. The senior mainland Chinese official also called for robust risk prevention frameworks and stronger global governance of the technology.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu outlined plans in his annual policy address last week to adopt an AI risk‑governance strategy, focusing on combating the use of such technologies in criminal activities and formulating safety‑management guidelines for AI agents.
Kan, 57, who headed the National Security Department, began his pre-retirement leave on Tuesday after 35 years on the force.
Discussing the new threat, the outgoing police official said he had seen overseas examples of AI agents launching attacks on critical infrastructure and other companies’ computer systems, as well as generating misinformation.
Anti-government forces could also use AI to commit crimes related to national security, he said.
“I totally agree ... that AI poses a new security threat to national security,” he said. “We have been working to improve our capability in AI in this aspect. I can also tell you one of the tactics to combat AI crime is using AI.”
Kan pointed to AI tools used to help screen social media posts to identify potential “soft resistance” against the government as an example.
“As computers and AI become more powerful, the chances of successfully hiding your criminal intent or criminal acts are actually getting slimmer. So, it’s better not to test the law,” he warned.
The police official also said that anyone who used AI to commit crimes should be held responsible.
Kan said the current legislation was adequate for now to tackle such threats, but he did not rule out the need for new legislation in the future.
“Maybe in the future we need new laws,” he said. “Of course, technology grows very fast. We do not know next year or five years later, what the world will be.”
Discussing the relevant legislation, he cited Section 50 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, which governs acts of endangering national security in relation to computers or electronic systems, saying that authorities had anticipated AI-related threats while drafting the law.
He also pointed to the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (Computer Systems) Ordinance, which safeguards critical infrastructure and banking systems from attacks.
In his announcement of Hong Kong’s first five-year blueprint last week, Lee touched on plans to enhance the legal system and enforcement mechanisms to safeguard national security.
Kan said the four main national security threats that would require vigilance over the next five years were soft resistance, home-grown terrorism, foreign influence and espionage.
Earlier this year, national security police raided three independent bookstores over allegations that they had displayed or sold titles with seditious intent.
The deputy police chief said his officers had actually read the books and sought legal advice from the Department of Justice before taking enforcement action. “There is no such thing as blind enforcement or making arbitrary arrests,” he said.
Kan also rejected the idea of publishing a banned books list with book titles or ISBNs, arguing booksellers were responsible for ensuring the books they were selling complied with local national security legislation and comparing the situation to how restaurant owners needed to ensure food safety.
“If we issue a banned books list today, and tomorrow you publish another book that turns out to be illegal after our investigation, you’ll say, ‘hey, why are you arresting us if it wasn’t on the list?’ This simply cannot resolve the problem,” he said.
He suggested that sellers read the books before offering them and seek legal advice if in doubt. “If you say it is not easy to get legal advice ... then don’t sell it,” he said.
“If you say, ‘you will not publish the book list, and I don’t know where the red line is’ – I feel this is a bit of ... soft resistance,” he said, adding that there was a clear definition of sedition under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
Kan said more people were engaging in soft resistance, which had become even more discreet and underground after the enactment of national security laws.
He added that people used different platforms, including cultural, arts and online media, to spread misinformation, incite hatred and instigate public resentment towards the local and central governments.
On the distinction between soft resistance and freedom of speech, he said that the key determining factors were whether the expression was intended to incite others and whether the criticism was based on concrete facts.
On September 11, three former leaders of the now-disbanded alliance behind Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil were sentenced to up to seven years and three months in jail for inciting subversion.
Kan said that whether it was legal to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4 in the future should be judged on a case-by-case basis.
He said that when evaluating applications for protests, police assessed threats to national security, public order and safety, as well as the potential impacts on the freedoms of others.
“Of course, if the rally or protest you join is explicitly taking up the mantle of the alliance’s ideology, or ideas aimed at opposing China and destabilising Hong Kong, then you really need to think twice about whether you’ll end up breaking the law,” he said.
Commenting on the effectiveness of putting bounties on wanted persons who had breached national security laws, Kan said: “Justice may be delayed, but it will not be denied.
“Just because they haven’t returned now does not mean they never will ... world politics can change drastically.
“Will those sheltering you today betray you tomorrow? I wouldn’t rule it out. It’s certainly not impossible. When you beg others for protection and shelter, what happens to you once your usefulness runs out? We shall wait and see.”
Kan also noted that national security police had arrested people suspected of handling funds or donations on behalf of absconders, largely cutting off their means of survival.
Asked whether he would join the Committee for Safeguarding National Security after retiring, he said he wanted to take a good rest and spend time with his family first, adding that he did not have any current plans for the future. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
