The army makes its debut at charity show as it raises its profile in the city
RAQUEL CARVALHOraquel.carvalho@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 08 November, 2015, 3:10am
UPDATED : Sunday, 08 November, 2015, 11:19am
PLA soldiers go through their paces at the charity event at Stanley Prison - the first time they had taken part. Photo: Sam Tsang
For the first time since the 1997 handover, members of the Hong Kong garrison of the People's Liberation Army joined the autumn fair organised by the Correctional Services Department Sports Association.
In the event, which has been held every year since 1953, 24 PLA honour guards staged a 15- minute drill at Stanley Prison. They performed flawlessly with songs like the March of Military Bearing - typically included in Chinese military parades - playing in the background.
Some 20,000 people watched the various performances - some of which involved prison inmates.
The event also included a cadet corps side-drum team, a band and a motorcycling team from the Civil Aid Service.
The funds collected from the sale of products made by inmates and donations made to more than 30 booths will be given to some 50 charity organisations in Hong Kong.
According to a spokesperson for the Correctional Services Department, the PLA's drill was meant "to enable the public to watch the soldiers' professional presence". The spokesperson did not explain why the garrison was invited for the first time only this year.
The PLA's Hong Kong garrison seems to be increasingly willing to show its presence in the city.
The force allowed the media to watch a full-scale military exercise at the Castle Peak Firing Range in Tuen Mun for the first time in July. The 45-minute live-fire military drill took place three days after Beijing approved a controversial and wide-ranging national security law that sparked concern over stricter limits on citizens' freedoms.
Guests at the drill said at the time that the PLA was simply trying to show it had the power to protect Hong Kong, adding that the exercise's timing was not relevant.
But political commentator and China watcher, Johnny Lau Yui-siu, said that China's show of force had a specific meaning. The drill "is not just about deterring pro-independence ideology, it is also a show of strength to foreign forces that Beijing accuses of meddling in Hong Kong's affairs", he noted.
Last June, journalists were also allowed for the first time to enter the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1876649/peoples-liberation-army-soldiers-perform-first-time-hong