There are still two weeks before the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and the government will hold a grand ceremony.
The 1.85-meter-tall former police chief, Chai Ka-fai, stood on the stage of history with seven colleagues 25 years ago on June 30 and July 1, 1997. As the Hong Kong Police Force's return to the honor guard, he descended on Hong Kong during the colonial period. The flag and the hoisting of the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region opened the prelude to the return of Hong Kong.
Chai Ka-fai recalled that the members of the honor guard arrived at Tamar on the evening of June 30 of that year to lower the flag at the British farewell ceremony.
It was raining heavily that day, and everyone was soaking wet. Since there was only one set of specially-made dresses, they had to rush back to the police headquarters to dry their clothes after completing the British farewell ceremony, and then rush to the exhibition to attend the handover ceremony and raise the Hong Kong flag.
Former police chief Chai Ka-fai, a member of the Honor Guard for the Return, recalled that in the early morning of July 1, 25 years ago, the Hong Kong flag was raised at the exhibition.
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1.85 meters high was personally selected by the former brother Li Mingkui to enter the honor guard
In an interview with the police in the latest issue of "The Voice", Chai Jiahui recounted the process of lowering and raising the flag when he was in charge of the execution.
He was 35 years old at the time and was stationed in the New Territories North Regional Stormtroopers. In early June, he was suddenly called to the police headquarters to meet with the then Assistant Commissioner Li Mingkui (later promoted to the third Commissioner after the return).
"At that time, Mr. Lee asked about my height and my experience in marching, and stood beside me to see my height. I answered his questions one by one and left." At 1.85 meters tall, he had no clue at the time. It was only later that I learned that I had been selected to perform a "national mission".
"Police" reported that Chai Ka-fai was called to the Stonecutters Island Barracks in June of the same year. Together with him, two inspectors and six police chiefs were present. Eight of them reported to the British Warrant Officer and followed the Warrant Officer's subordinates to practice flag lowering every day. and folded flags, only to learn a few days later that they had been selected as members of the returning honor guard.
He said that at that time, the subordinates of the British Warrant Officer taught them how to lower the flag, while the instructor of the Hong Kong Police Honor Guard taught them to raise the flag and march.
Chai Ka-fai said that he was fortunate to appreciate the rehearsal of the honor guards from China and the UK, and was deeply impressed by the performance of the PLA. "Each of them is over 1.8 meters tall, and they trained for the ceremony two years ago. They are very professional."
Chai Ka-fai (first from left) was responsible for raising the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the handover ceremony in 1997.
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In the evening, the Tamar flag was lowered, the rain fell, the only dress was soaked, and the deployment was disrupted
During the handover ceremony, personnel from both sides were responsible for raising and lowering the Chinese and British flags, while the Hong Kong Police Returning Honor Guard was responsible for lowering the colonial-era Hong Kong flag and raising the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Chai Ka Fai said that he and a group of honor guard members first arrived at Tamar on the evening of June 30 of that year to perform the flag-lowering ceremony at the British farewell ceremony. One set, they had to rush back to the police headquarters to dry their clothes after completing the British farewell ceremony, and then rush to the exhibition to attend the handover ceremony.
Chai Ka-fai recalled: "I have always felt honored and nervous to carry out this historic mission. The heavy rain disrupted the schedule that night, and we were even more nervous. However, as police officers, we had to complete the mission professionally, so we packed up our minds and finally rose to the top. Raised the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Only after returning to the backstage did I dare to release my excitement.”
The police have fully switched to Chinese-style marching since 7.1
Chai Ka-fai spent more than ten years in police service mainly teaching at the Police Academy and retired in June 2017.
Although he does not teach footsteps, he is still happy to share anecdotes about his return to the honor guard with the school police.
Chai Ka-fai believes that marching represents the image of the police force, and can maintain the sense of belonging of the comrades to the police force.
The Police Force will fully switch to Chinese-style marching from July 1 this year. Chai Ka-fai expressed his great expectation. "I think the Chinese-style marching moves are smooth and very entertaining. This change coincides with the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, which is very meaningful."
▼September 18, 2021, the graduation parade of the Hong Kong Police College▼
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