Hong Kong officials absent from ceremony marking anniversary of end of Japanese occupation
- One organiser says it’s the first year in decades that Hong Kong officials haven’t attended
- Representatives of the consuls general of Canada, the UK and the US, and from the Hong Kong Prisoners of War Association, laid wreaths at the event
Representatives from the Hong Kong government were absent from a ceremony on Sunday that marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Japanese occupation of the city in World War II.
The annual ceremony, held on Sunday morning at the City Hall Garden of Remembrance in Central, marked the 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day, when Hong Kong first learned of Japan’s 1945 surrender after three years and eight months of occupation.
The ceremony was held amid the city’s ongoing third wave of Covid-19 cases, with social distancing rules implemented, but organisers said Hong Kong government officials were not in attendence.
“I was very surprised they paid no recognition of the veterans. The absence was the first as far as I’ve attended the annual event for decades,” said Ronald Taylor, Honorary President of the Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) Association, one of the organisers.
Representatives of the consuls general of Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, and representatives from the Hong Kong Prisoners of War Association laid wreaths at the event, while lancemen from the Hong Kong Adventure Corps stood sentry by the shrine while guests observed a moment of silence.
Taylor said that Hong Kong government’s representatives, including Joyce Lee Tsz-ching, director of protocol, were expected to attend the annual event but informed the organisers on Friday that they were not able to attend, without citing reasons.