HONG KONG – Under a gray drizzle, a Hong Kong police drilling group marched to the police academy’s parade ground on Thursday and showed off a newly acquired skill: Goose-walking in the closed march style of the Chinese army, a deviation from the bent knee British style has long been the norm in the former colony.
The drilling group was watched by hundreds of supporters who gathered at bleachers to celebrate National Security Education Day, marked by fanfare ten months after Beijing began a comprehensive suppression of disagreements in the city.
With promotional billboards across the city and events held at schools and other institutions, the activities sought to keep support for a new security regime in place, including a national security law punishing crimes such as sedition and conspiracy of foreign affairs join with to life in prison.
Thursday’s events also highlighted that Hong Kong, which returned to China in 1997 under an agreement to give the city limited self-government, is now heavily under Beijing’s control. Senior Chinese and local officials delivered speeches warning of serious consequences for anyone crossing China’s national line of national security. Many of the city’s most prominent democracy activists are in jail or right.
The face of the Hong Kong police marching on the mainland forms the strongest symbol of Beijing’s influence and becomes the focal point of the day.