Hong Kong needs to be more vigilant and better prepared after firebombing on MTR

The petrol bomb attack on Hong Kong’s MTR on Friday evening has highlighted the need to be ever more vigilant when it comes to personal and public safety. While this appears not to be a terrorist attack, and everyone involved was admirably calm and collected throughout, it does expose the city’s overall lack of public awareness of what people should do in similar life-threatening situations.

In countries which have experienced terrorist attacks and mass shootings, a much greater effort has been made to improve public awareness and education on what to do in dangerous situations than in Hong Kong.

Following a number of high-profile incidents in other countries, the citizens in those places have become more conscious of the need for better situational awareness and, more importantly, what to do when there is a risk of danger. In the UK, the public are advised to “run, hide, tell”, while in the United States they tend to prefer the “run, hide, fight” approach.

Even in a place like Hong Kong, where the very professional emergency services are usually able to respond within minutes of an incident, as was seen in yesterday’s case, a lot of damage or injuries can be sustained before they arrive. It is therefore essential that the public have some sense of how better to protect or defend themselves in similar situations.

Of course, it begins with situational awareness, especially in crowded places with limited options for movement. According to eyewitnesses, the culprit in this case shouted his intentions a few times before throwing the petrol bomb. Clearly, we can no longer accept odd or abnormal behaviour in public places and these people must be reported to the authorities immediately.