Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on July 1 this year, Offbeat invites former Station Sergeant Chai Ka-fai, a member of the Guard of Honour at the 1997 ceremony which marked Hong Kong’s return to the motherland (the Ceremony), to share the episode then.

35-year-old Chai was stationed at the Emergency Unit of New Territories North then. In early June 1997, he was suddenly summoned to the Police Headquarters to meet the then Assistant Commissioner Lee Ming-kwai. “In the meeting, Lee Sir asked about my height and my experience in foot drill. He even stood beside me to check my height. I answered all his questions and left.” Chai, who was 1.85 metres tall, had no clue at the time. It was not until later that he knew he had been selected to perform a “national mission”.

Chai was called to the Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks in June of the same year. Two inspectors and six station sergeants, including Chai, reported to a British Warrant Officer and followed his subordinates to practice flag lowering and folding every day. A few days later, Chai learned that they had been selected as members of the Guard of Honour at the Ceremony. The subordinates of the British Warrant Officer taught them how to lower the flag, while the instructor of the Guard of Honour of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) taught them how to raise the flag and perform foot drill. Lee Sir even succeeded in getting them the chance to practise at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), the venue where the Ceremony would be held. Chai was thus lucky enough to appreciate the rehearsal and was deeply impressed by the performance of the People’s Liberation Army. “Each of them was over 1.8 metres tall and started training two years before the Ceremony. They were very professional.”

At the Ceremony, the raising of the Chinese national flag and lowering of the UK national flag were the respective responsibility of personnel from both sides, while the HKPF’s Guard of Honour was responsible for the mission to lower the colonial Hong Kong flag and raise the regional flag of the HKSAR. On the evening of June 30, 1997, Chai and other members of the Guard of Honour arrived at Tamar first to lower the flag at the British Farewell Ceremony. It was raining very heavily that day so everyone was soaked. Since each of them had only one set of specially-made uniform, they had to rush back to the Police Headquarters to dry their clothes after completing the British Farewell Ceremony, and then hurried to the HKCEC.

Chai recalled, “I have always felt honoured and nervous to carry out this historic mission. The heavy rain disrupted the schedule that night, and we were even more nervous. However, as Force members, we must complete the mission professionally. In the end, we successfully raised the regional flag of the HKSAR. I didn’t dare to release the excitement until I returned to the backstage.”

Chai mainly taught at the Police College afterwards and retired in June 2017. Although he did not teach foot drill, he shared with the recruit police constables the anecdotes in which he served as a member of the Guard of Honour. He believes that the foot drill is very meaningful and must be inherited and practised as it represents the image of the Force and can maintain the colleagues’ sense of belonging to the Force. Seeing the trainees lose their alignment due to nervousness, Chai would comfort them by saying, “Surely, you won’t be as nervous as I was at the Ceremony back then. So, relax!”

The Force will fully adopt the Chinese-style foot drill from July 1 this year onward. Chai is looking forward to it. He adds, “The movement of the Chinese-style foot drill is very smooth and impressive. This change, which coincides with the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, is very meaningful.”