The People’s Liberation Army’s Hong Kong garrison has held its first flag-raising ceremony marking the military ’s anniversary at a designated zone on the Central waterfront, vowing to safeguard national security in the city. The city’s administration handed the military berth over to the garrison in 2020, after the opposition camp tried to delay the process, arguing that the entire promenade should be used as open space. Writing on his Facebook page on Monday, Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu said he was “fortunate to have witnessed the historic moment” two years ago as security chief. Xi praises Hong Kong PLA garrison for city’s transition from ‘chaos’ to ‘stability’ “We’ve overcame many obstacles in the process, and I’m still very proud of this,” he said. “The garrison silently guards Hong Kong and is a solid backing for the city’s prosperity and stability, I’d like to take this special day to express my highest respect to them.” In a joint statement, Major General Peng Jingtang and political commissar Lai Ruxin from the garrison also honoured the country’s 95-year-old military. “President Xi [Jinping] inspected the Hong Kong garrison on July 1 … He spoke highly of the outstanding contributions made by it, and fully affirmed the important role of the garrison,” they said. “The garrison will join hands with all walks of life in Hong Kong to safeguard national security and Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, and make greater contributions to the steady and long-term development of the practice of ‘one country, two systems’.” The garrison posted a two-minute video on to its Weibo social media account on Monday morning, showing about 70 guards of honour – from the garrison’s army, naval and air force branches – marching from the Central barracks, via Lung Wo Road, to the military dock at about 6am on Monday. There, Lai, the political commissar, and more than 100 military officers, including representatives from other barracks in the city, joined them in singing the national anthem, and saluted as the Chinese flag was raised. Hong Kong PLA garrison ‘to be ready for toughest and most complicated situations’ The video showed Long Zhipeng, the garrison’s head of management, saying the ceremony was aimed at encouraging military officers to be loyal in safeguarding the nation, as well as to remain determined and progressive in strengthening the army as a whole. The 150-metre strip, which was about 100 metres from the army’s Central Barracks, was officially declared a military zone in September 2020 by the Hong Kong government. Chinese, US warships keep watch amid tensions over a Pelosi Taiwan visit The garrison used it for the first time in January as the venue of a flag-raising ceremony to mark Lunar New Year . A similar event was held there on July 1 to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule. The Chinese and British governments agreed in 1994 to leave a 150-metre (492-feet) stretch of Hong Kong harbourfront as a military dock in postcolonial times, but the decision was not implemented by the city until 2013. Yet, the opposition camp had strongly objected to the Town Planning Board’s decision to rezone the site for “open space” to “military use” in 2014, arguing that the site should remain classified as an “open space” so that the entire waterfront promenade could be used for public enjoyment. China watcher Song Sio-chong, a professor at Shenzhen University’s Centre for Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macau, said he believed the garrison picked the venue to give residents a subtle reminder about Beijing’s authority over the city. “People might not care about it if it was held inside a rural barracks. But through organising it in this special berth in the city centre, the garrison is trying to educate the public that Hong Kong must respect the central government’s comprehensive jurisdiction over the city,” he said.