HONG KONG police have arrested nine people after discovering a cache of explosives and weapons, local media reported yesterday, quoting police sources.

    News of the detentions came before a highly anticipated vote in the territory’s legislature this week on a framework for Hong Kong’s next major election.

    Munitions experts arrived at the site of the discovery, a vacant TV studio, late Sunday night and spent several hours detonating the materials. Authorities also found an M16 rifle, a digital scale and a digital remote control. A two-liter jug of brown liquid and bullet boxes were also found, said TVB, another local news outlet.

    Five men and four women aged 21 to 34 were arrested, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP), which described the detainees as “radical activists.” The publication said police suspected that the explosives were intended to be detonated this week ahead of the vote in the Legislative Council. No specific site for any bombing was mentioned.

    TVB quoted police as saying the detainees were members of a “nativist group plotting to disrupt order” during the vote.

    The suspects included a post-secondary student, a teaching assistant, a construction worker, a technician and three unemployed people, the SCMP said.

    The Central Government approved landmark electoral reforms in Hong Kong in September last year.

    Under the changes, 5 million eligible Hong Kong voters will be able to directly vote for their next chief executive in 2017 through “one person, one vote,” choosing from a maximum of three candidates in 2017 who will be picked up by a 1,200-member nominating committee.

    (SD-Agencies)