Hong Kong officials are inclined to cancel the annual National Day fireworks because of the ongoing protest crisis, a government source told the Post on Thursday.

Cancellation is an option despite this year being the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, the source said, and the decision was being considered by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her top ministers.

“There is an inclination [to call it off]. What if protesters set fires in the street? We cannot let rioters have the opportunity to wreak havoc – and we also have to protect residents and travellers,” he said.

Since Hong Kong was returned from British rule in 1997, the annual display has brought about 300,000 residents and tourists to both sides of Victoria Harbour for the visual experience. It was cancelled in 2013 because of the Lamma Island boat tragedy and in 2014 because of the Occupy protests.

A citywide protest movement was set off in June over a now-shelved extradition bill. What began as peaceful marches escalated into violent clashes with police, with protesters hurling petrol bombs and officers responding with rubber bullets and beanbag rounds.

The city’s metro stations have become prime targets of radicals and demonstrators have also flocked to shopping malls. In recent nights, many have gathered to sing their new protest anthem, Glory to Hong Kong, in the latest form of defiance.

Politicians across the political spectrum had said the government should consider cancelling the fireworks unless officials could guarantee the public’s safety.

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Leung Che-cheung, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said Lam’s administration must not insist on staging the annual display.

“It should be held if it is safe. But if there is chaos, would spectators be prevented from going home?” Leung said. “Protesters might use it as an opportunity to take revenge on the government.”

Stanley Ng Chau-pei, president of the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, said: “The government needs to make safety assessments. We should definitely celebrate the National Day, but it is possible that those rioters would cause trouble.”

Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai said this year’s display should be called off.

“When society is so unstable and divided, and the government has been cracking down on protests, what are the reasons for a firework display? ” Wu said. “It’s just completely opposite to how society is feeling these days.”

The government has been looking business groups to sponsor the firework display since last October.

In an audio recording recently leaked to Reuters, Lam is heard saying at a closed-door meeting that the government had made a “special arrangement” for National Day.

Lam was recorded saying: “There will be National Day celebrations, but we are still having a lot of disruptions so we are going for modest but solemn celebrations on October 1.”