‘At midnight I took off my Royal Hong Kong Police badge and got on with fighting crime’

When Hong Kong changed from a British colony to a Chinese special administrative region 20 years ago, those living in the city witnessed the significant moment from different locations, on different jobs and with different feelings. All the little things they experienced, from a hug with Chinese officials to a change in police badges, will be remembered as parts of the city’s history.

At midnight on June 30, 1997, Hong Kong police officers made a small but significant change to their uniforms.

They removed their silver Royal Hong Kong Police badges, which featured opium boats in Victoria Harbour, and attached shiny new insignia, complete with Chinese characters and the Hong Kong city skyline.

“At the stroke of midnight, on the 30th, we all had to change our badges. So in about five seconds, we went from working for a British colonial government to working for the Chinese government,” said Chief Superintendent Barry Smith, who goes by the first name BJ.

“But then it was all about the work.”

British-born Smith, 55, arrived in Hong Kong in 1983 as an eager 21-year-old. By the time of the handover he was in charge of the special duties unit known as the Flying Tigers, the team that would respond to a terrorist attack.