The pipes are calling - for new bandsmen
When the body of Hong Kong volunteer Wong Fuk-wing - killed in the Qinghai earthquake while trying to save trapped children and teachers at an orphanage - was taken through the Shenzhen Western Corridor checkpoint to the city last Sunday night, a lone piper from the Hong Kong Police Band led the way, playing a lament.
It was a poignant image, but also a curious one. For the piper is as much a part of Britian's now redundant imperialist history as the Union Jack.
Yet on such austere occasions it is still customary for a piper to play. Since its return to the motherland in 1997, many British traditions here have fallen by the wayside, but not this one. Its contradictory nature may seem a little odd, but it is one the Hong Kong Police Band don't have a problem with.
'It is a tradition that we inherited from Britain. It depends on the honour being bestowed or on the occasion,' said James Leung Bo-kun, the Hong Kong Police deputy director of music.
'It's not about colonialism or anything like that. We believe in one country and two systems, but we've had this tradition for a long time.
'You could argue that it's a colonial thing but we'd say that it's a speciality of our police band. A culture of the band that we want to celebrate and not forget.'
Pipe bands have always been synonymous with the military and in particular the British Army. Pipers served in regiments from the earliest times - the Royal Scots have records referring to pipers dating back to the early 17th century.
The Hong Kong Police Pipe Band is a ceremonial unit of the Hong Kong Police Band and is used for official events. It was established in 1954 and initially performed with the Hong Kong Police Silver Band (formed in 1951).
The bands merged to form a single band that was later renamed the Royal Hong Kong Police Band. The 'Royal' may have been dropped from the title these days but the band plays an important role in public and community relations programmes and fulfils more than 500 engagements each year.
It performs at many public functions, helping to promote martial music and the culture of military drill, while also playing in performances on the mainland and overseas.
'This history makes us very different from other bands in the world and we want to preserve it,' Leung said. 'The band has developed from strength to strength since the 1950s.'
The Mackintosh tartan, which the pipers wear, was adopted in recognition of a former Commissioner of Police, Duncan William MacIntosh, after whom the MacIntosh Forts were also named.
However, despite the culture and history surrounding the Hong Kong Police Band, its future may not be quite so rosy as no new pipers have joined in the past five years.
'Since the handover, civilians in Hong Kong do not want to learn to play the pipes,' Leung said. 'Before this new recruits would have been trained by senior members or received some basic training elsewhere.
'At the moment we have a pipe band of 24 members and we hope that they will last for a long time, but it is hard to know now that no new pipers are joining.'
Despite this the band plays for the official events such as the flag-raising ceremony of the HKSAR Establishment Day, National Day, state dinners and the honours and awards presentation ceremony at Government House.
On the first of each month the Hong Kong Police Band plays at the flag-raising ceremony held at the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, and at various public celebrations, such as the Lunar New Year Parade, and even at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
In addition, it participates in various functions organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Trade Development Council, government departments and numerous charity organisations. It has gained an international reputation in countries such as Australia, Canada, Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and the United States.
