Hong Kong police yesterday displayed a cuddly bear mascot, rappelled from a helicopter and goose-stepped as the territory held a “National Security Education Day.”
Beijing last year blanketed Hong Kong in a sweeping National Security Law after months of democracy protests.
Yesterday’s events, the first since the law’s imposition in June last year, included activities across the territory to burnish the security forces and outline the threats China perceives in Hong Kong.
Photo: Reuters
At a morning ceremony attended by senior officials, Hong Kong Liaison Office Director Luo Huining (駱惠寧) vowed to “strike down hard resistance and regulate soft resistance.”
China was ready to “teach a lesson” to any foreign power trying to use the territory “as a chess piece,” said Luo, Beijing’s top official in Hong Kong.
“For all deeds that endanger national security, and Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, the central authorities will take action as necessary,” he said.
Over seven straight months in 2019, protesters demanded democracy and greater police accountability.
Beijing’s leaders have dismissed the movement, portraying it as a “foreign plot” to destroy China.
They have since embarked on a crackdown against critics and rolled out an official campaign — dubbed “staunch patriots governing Hong Kong” — to root out disloyalty toward the Chinese Communist Party.
Hong Kong’s police college held an open day, at which officers revealed a new goose-stepping march, the same style used by police and troops in the mainland.
The display was a symbolic break from Hong Kong’s British colonial past and Chinese army officers helped train police in the new style.
Tactical units then demonstrated an “anti-terrorism drill,” which included officers sliding down ropes from a helicopter to shoot dead pretend armed militants and a hostage-taker.
On the sidelines, guests wearing “I love police” T-shirts posed for selfies with a bear mascot dressed in a tactical uniform.
Cuddly toy versions of the bear were also on sale for HK$400 (US$52) alongside plastic toys of riot police officers holding shotguns and tear gas warning flags.
Schools have been a major focus for authorities as they seek to incubate loyalty from an early age.
National security day activities were held across classrooms featuring games, puzzles, quizzes and flag-raising ceremonies.
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