PLA soldiers sent onto streets of Hong Kong for first time since protests began – to help clear roadblocks near Kowloon Tong garrison
- One soldier says action has nothing to do with the Hong Kong government
- More than 400 soldiers were deployed just over a year ago to help clear-up operation following Typhoon Mangkhut
Chinese soldiers marched out of their barracks for the first time in more than five months of civil unrest in Hong Kong to help clear roadblocks and debris left by radical protesters.
Unarmed and dressed in plain clothes, about 50 soldiers in two neatly arrayed files strode out of the Kowloon East barracks at about 4pm. They immediately began to clear Renfrew Road, which the barracks share with Baptist University’s campus.
One of the soldiers said their action had nothing to do with the Hong Kong government.
“We volunteered! Stopping violence and ending chaos is our responsibility,” he said, quoting a phrase used by President Xi Jinping.
Joined by dozens of local residents, firefighters and police officers, the soldiers made quick work of the roadblocks, barbed wire and bricks left behind by protesters earlier. At 5pm, they regrouped and marched back to their barracks, shouting patriotic slogans in unison.
This was not the first time the People’s Liberation Army local garrison been involved in public community work; they helped remove fallen trees after Typhoon Mangkhut struck last year.