Military parades in Hong Kong

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This is a list of military parades held in Hong Kong since 1945.

Contents

British Hong Kong

1945

The first parade of British Forces Overseas Hong Kong since the reclamation of Hong Kong from Japanese rule took place on 9 October 1945 near The Cenotaph. The parade saw personnel of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force take part, as well as troops from the Republic of China. [1] [2]

1996

The last Royal Air Force parade in the territory took place on 15 September 1996, on the 56th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. The parade was conducted by the No. 28 Squadron RAF. The unit was the last of its kind to be pulled out of Hong Kong ahead of the transfer ceremony the following July. It was attended by Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan and Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong Bryan Dutton. [3] [4]

1997

An evening parade at HMS Tamar was held during the Hong Kong handover ceremony on 30 June. [5] It included a farewell address by Governor Chris Patten as well as an address by Charles, Prince of Wales on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. [6] [7]

Hong Kong SAR

1998

On 7 May 1998, the first military parade of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison took place on Stonecutters Island at Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the HKSAR's establishment. It was attended by Jiang Zemin who was Chairman of the Central Military Commission and was on his second visit to the region. [8]

2004

On 1 August 2004, the first military parade on PLA Day in the entire PRC took place. [9] The 3,000-strong parade specifically marked the 77th anniversary of the founding of the PLA. The parade was presided by the PLA commander in HKSAR, General Wang Jitang. It also saw the unprecedented attendance of anti-CPC lawmakers in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong at the parade. [10] Beginning at 10:30 that morning, the parade began with the performance of March of the Volunteers and was concluded with a performance by the PLA Hong Kong Band. [11] [12] It was the first major appearance for the PLA Hong Kong Garrison Honour Guard Battalion, which was formed back in the fall of 1997.

2007

It took place on Stonecutters and celebrated the CCP's 80th anniversary and the HKSAR's 10th anniversary. It was the first to be held on Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day.

2012

It was commanded by General Zhang Shibo and was presided over by Central Military Commission chairman Hu Jintao. It celebrated HKSAR's 15th anniversary. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

2015

A parade in honor of the platinum jubilee of the end of World War II took place on V-J Day in 2015. It took place with the participation of cadet/ youth organizations as well as the Hong Kong Police Force. It was attended by Lau Kong-wah as the presiding officer in his position as Secretary for Home Affairs. [19] [20] The parade route went through Kowloon Park in Tsim Sha Tsui.

2017

The parade was held in honor of the 20th anniversary of the accession of Hong Kong into the PRC and the 90th anniversary of the PLA. It was commanded by General Tan Benhong and attended by Central Military Commission chairman Xi Jinping. [21] It was the largest parade in the HKSAR's existence, being held at Shek Kong Airfield in the presence of 20 formations including one from Shenzhen Military Base. [22] The 20 formations accounted for over 3,000 troops combined. [23] 60 armoured vehicles, 61 vehicles that specialised in surveillance, command, communications, defence, engineering, missile delivery, interference and field rescue and prevention. Twelve types of military helicopters were on show. [24] [25]

It was also the first to include the new military greeting Hello Comrades!, to which the troops respond with Hello Chairman!. This was a replacement of the greeting used since the 35th anniversary of parade on Tiananmen Square in 1984 when Hello Leader! was the response by troops. [26] [27]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "HONG KONG'S 'V-DAY': CELEBRATION PARADE IN HONG KONG (9/10/1945) | colonialfilm". www.colonialfilm.org.uk.
  2. ↑ "HONG KONG VICTORY CELEBRATIONS. 9 OCTOBER 1945, HONG KONG. ADMIRAL C H J HARCOURT, CB, CBE, COMMANDER IN CHIEF, HONG KONG WAS THE CENTRAL FIGURE AT THE COLONY'S VICTORY CELEBRATIONS WHICH INCLUDED A MARCH PAST BY THE SERVICES AND A TYPICAL CHINESE PROCESSION". Imperial War Museums.
  3. ↑ "HONG KONG: BRITISH ROYAL AIR FORCE CEREMONIAL FAREWELL PARADE | AP Archive". www.aparchive.com.
  4. ↑ "Air Pictorial". Air League of the British Empire. October 28, 1997 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "Hong Kong's handover was all gloom and doom for me for one night". South China Morning Post.
  6. ↑ "Patten to give farewell speech at sunset | South China Morning Post". Scmp.com. 1997-06-03. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  7. ↑ O'Clery, Conor (May 17, 2016). "May You Live in Interesting Times". Poolbeg Press Ltd – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "习近平检阅驻港部队，受阅官兵为何喊"主席好"?|政解 - 国内 - 新京报网". www.bjnews.com.cn.
  9. ↑ Loh, Christine (November 1, 2018). Underground Front: The Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong, Second Edition. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN   9789888455737 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Jeffries, Ian (January 24, 2007). China: A Guide to Economic and Political Developments. Routledge. ISBN   9781134177622 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ "Hong Kong cheers first garrison parade". newyork.chineseconsulate.org.
  12. ↑ "Hong Kong cheers first garrison parade". www.chinadaily.com.cn.
  13. ↑ Ng, Jeffrey (June 29, 2012). "Hu Arrives in Hong Kong" – via www.wsj.com.
  14. ↑ Ruwitch, John (July 1, 2007). "Hong Kong marks first decade under Chinese rule". The Star Online.
  15. ↑ "Chinese leader visits HK for handover anniversary". France 24.
  16. ↑ "Protests as China's Hu urges new Hong Kong leader to resolve 'problems'" – via mobile.reuters.com.
  17. ↑ Lo, Sonny Shiu-hing (April 1, 2008). The Dynamics of Beijing-Hong Kong Relations: A Model for Taiwan?. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN   9789622099081 – via Google Books.
  18. ↑ "President Hu inspects PLA garrison in Hong Kong". newyork.chineseconsulate.org.
  19. ↑ "Protests and parades as Hong Kong marks 70th anniversary of Japan's WWII surrender". August 31, 2015.
  20. ↑ "巡遊紀念抗日勝利劉江華：銘記歷史緬懷先烈". Apple Daily 蘋果日報.
  21. ↑ "Xi likely to preside over military parade in handover anniversary". South China Morning Post.
  22. ↑ "Xi visit: Hong Kong PLA garrison stages biggest parade in 20 years". South China Morning Post. June 30, 2017.
  23. ↑ "10 facts about Hong Kong's biggest military display in 20 years". South China Morning Post.
  24. ↑ "China flexes military muscle in Hong Kong during Xi Jinping visit | Hong Kong | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com.
  25. ↑ Connor, Neil (June 30, 2017). "Xi Jinping asserts Chinese control over Hong Kong at military parade" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  26. ↑ "1984 National Day military parade - China - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn.
  27. ↑ "Hong Kong PLA troops break tradition for Xi Jinping". South China Morning Post. June 30, 2017.
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