Established in December 2015, the Force Media Liaison Cadre (FMLC) will soon mark its 10th anniversary. Sergeant Chung King-wai, one of the founding members wearing the “blue vests” in the first batch, recalled that the most touching experience in his ten years of service was the night when Kwai Chung Estate underwent “restriction-testing declaration” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“At that time, everyone was facing the unknown and had the same uneasy feeling, but we were willing to go the extra mile, understand and accommodate one another mutually in the face of challenges.” Chung King-wai recalled that during the first large-scale restriction operation which drew a huge number of media personnel, the team had to strike a balance among maintaining access for rescue, reporting needs and residents’ daily lives. After repeated coordination with the commanders and the media, a press area was finally designated that allowed filming of the scene without disturbing the residents. The most unforgettable thing was a veteran photographer who said to him late at night, “At times like this, you are still willing to stay with us until the very end. It is really not easy.”

The remark “it is not easy” revealed the difficulties behind the scenes that Chung King-wai was facing at the time - his whole family was infected, and colleagues being quarantined had led to a manpower shortage. Despite the fact that he had to handle the rosters for a large secondary duty team, Chung King-wai still insisted on going in person to the restricted areas to support his colleagues and reporters. “The frontline is already very busy. I just hope to use my professional skills to give my full support so that colleagues can focus on their own duties and the media can conduct their reporting smoothly”.

This “going the extra mile” belief was also embodied during the serious accident when a double‑decked bus collided with a school bus in Tung Chung in August 2023. The roads leading to the scene were seriously congested, so Chung King‑wai and his teammates decisively got off on the hard shoulder nearest to the scene, ran for ten minutes to reach it, and swiftly handled the incident. “Rather than letting reporters roam the streets at risk, it is better to proactively designate a press area and use good visuals to keep them there.” Afterwards, a colleague said, “Once you arrived, we felt at ease.” This made him feel that all the hardship was worthwhile.

Over the ten years of wearing it, the “blue vest” was not just a uniform for Chung King‑wai but also a bridge of communication and trust. “Frontline colleagues, please rest assured and do your jobs well. Leave the media work to us. We will continue helping the media tell good police stories, so that the public can see more of our colleagues who have been working hard in silence.”