The day the Buddha’s tooth flew in from Beijing to visit Hong Kong
- Security was tight in 1999 when the 2,000-year-old relic arrived by chartered flight from Beijing
- It was in the city to mark Hong Kong’s first public holiday for Buddha’s Birthday
“Tight security planned for ‘Buddha’s tooth’,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on April 10, 1999.
The 2,000-year-old tooth was one of three that, according to scriptures, were found after the cremation of the Buddha.
Local Buddhist groups had revealed in June 1996 that they had requested the Chinese government send the tooth from Beijing, where it was kept, to Hong Kong for an exhibition commemorating the city’s return to Chinese rule, in 1997.
Nearly two years later, a March 19, 1999 Post report said: “Police and Buddhist leaders are working on schemes to ensure the holy relic is adequately protected when it arrives to mark the first year that the SAR has a public holiday for the Buddha’s Birthday, on May 22.
“Although the PLA will not be mounting guard because the troops here are used only for defence purposes and not for internal security, some Buddhist leaders suggested that special agents of Zhongnanhai should be employed to handle security arrangements,” the story continued.