My Take | Wearing a red poppy should be seen as symbol of hope

Wearing a red poppy to mark Remembrance Day is, no doubt, seen by some as an outdated relic of Hong Kong’s colonial past.

The poppies are sold by the Hong Kong and China branch of the Royal British Legion and before the city’s return to China, the annual ceremony at the Cenotaph was run by Britain’s military. There were even doubts about whether it would be allowed to continue after the 1997 handover.

But the poppies will be worn with pride and dignity on Sunday – and for good reason. They serve as a timely reminder of the horror of war and the need to constantly strive for peace amid heightened global tensions.

The local branch of the Royal British Legion is a Hong Kong charity. It stresses that its beneficiaries are all Hong Kong residents. Money collected from the sale of poppies – more than HK$700,000 last year – goes to help former Hong Kong servicemen and women and their families when they fall on hard times. Among them are those who fought in the desperate defence of Hong Kong in 1941. Some of these veterans are, as the charity says, extremely old and frail. They are in need of help.

Meanwhile, the Remembrance Day ceremony, which has taken place in Hong Kong since 1923, is now organised by the Hong Kong Ex-Serviceman’s Association. It is due to go ahead this morning with restrictions to guard against the spread of Covid-19.

This year marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the second world war. For Hong Kong, that meant liberation from four harrowing years of occupation by Japanese forces, one of the darkest chapter’s in the city’s history. Remembrance Day will be especially poignant this year.