Hong Kong cadet groups switch from British military drills to Chinese goose stepping at May Fourth event in Wan Chai – but who gave the marching orders?
- Groups say the switch to PLA-style marching is unprecedented
- Some uniformed youth groups abandon traditional marching style
At least four of the 16 cadet groups at the Golden Bauhinia Square event broke with tradition and marched in the familiar Chinese manner, including goose stepping. The groups said it was the first time they had switched from the British marching style since the ceremony started in 2006.
The event was attended by 2,000 spectators as well as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Wang Zhimin, the director of Beijing’s liaison office in the city.
The change came after one of the main organisers, the pro-Beijing organisers Committee of Youth Activities, sent a notice in March suggesting that the cadet groups use the Chinese drills to “show respect to China”. This year’s May Fourth anniversary happened to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.
The organiser’s had also arranged a training session for several of the groups last month at the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) barracks in Fanling.
The suggestion to change the British marching drills was a tough transition, some of the youth groups said. Some were unable to decide which style to perform until the last minute, and others chose to send an extra squad so they could demonstrate both styles.
Last week, an unnamed senior member of a uniformed group told Apple Daily they were upset about being pressured to change styles. The source was quoted as saying some members felt like they were “forced to align with China” and abandon their traditions.
The allegation of undue influence was denied by Hui Wai-shan, the training manager for the Association of Hong Kong Flag-Guards.
“They gave us the freedom to choose which style we wanted to demonstrate,” Hui said. “We just treated it as learning something new for a special occasion.”
Hui’s group and the Air Cadet Corps marched in the Chinese military style on Saturday.
The Girl Guides’ Association and Road Safety Patrol sent an extra squad to demonstrate both styles.
Guo Tsz-ching, 15, who is in Hui’s squad, said: “I think both styles are good in their own ways, but the Chinese-style would be more suitable for this occasion since it is a Chinese event.”
A spokesman for the Air Cadet Corps said the PLA march was one of many the group had learned over the years. He said the group decided to adopt it on Saturday as a “one-off” event to honour the occasion.
Beijing has long sought to instil patriotism in Hong Kong youth and cultivate a stronger national identity. This aim is especially relevant as separatist groups have found support in the younger generation in recent years.
Uniformed youth groups in Hong Kong, mostly set up in the colonial era, generally use the British-influenced military steps, in which troops swing their arms to shoulder height and legs are bent when marching.
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The Chinese military is known for their ceremonial “goose-step”, in which troops keep their legs rigidly straight when lifting them off the ground, while the arms swing at a 90-degree angle in front of their chests.
The Hong Kong Adventure Corps, which learned the PLA military steps during training in April, told the Post on Friday the group had yet to decide which marching style it would use, basing the decision on how well they performed in rehearsals.
On Saturday, they chose the traditional British style.
The only group that used the PLA marching style both last year and on Saturday was the Hong Kong Army Cadets Association, which was founded in 2015 and has always been trained in the Chinese style.
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Chung Kim-wah, a political commentator, said that while groups had a choice, the organisers had sent a “strong political message”.
“When you have an official organisation sending a formal notice asking groups to consider changing styles as a sign of respect to the country, and even help arrange training sessions, it does create a kind of invisible pressure that is hard to ignore,” Chung said.
In the future, Chung said it would only be more difficult for groups to insist on sticking to their traditions.
“Even if not all of them changed this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if in one to two years, all of the groups would change to adopt the Chinese style. They would feel a need to entertain people and occasions that involve the Central government,” he said.
