Veteran HK police sergeant hailed as hero for actions during city’s troubled times shares memory, hopeful message for future
By Published: Sep 07, 2022 09:20 PM
Lau Chak-kei, a Hong Kong police sergeant Photo: VCG
Editor's Note:
Over the last 10 years, not only has the Chinese mainland witnessed tremendous changes and progress but also one of its Special Administrative Regions (SAR) has emerged from the chaos and social turbulence, embracing restored social stability with a promising future under the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong and the electoral system reform. The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) - the backbone of safeguarding the city's order and rule of law, has always been at the frontline of witnessing such changes.
Local Hong Kong residents shared memories about how the city endured instigated, riot-fueled social turmoil, but as always, police officers worked tirelessly to safeguard the city and uphold the "one country, two systems" policy.
In anticipation of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) scheduled to be held later this year, the Global Times has launched a series of stories to acknowledge the remarkable contributions made by people from all walks of life, and in this installment, a veteran police officer in Hong Kong who is hailed by Chinese netizens as the heroic "Bald-Headed Sergeant" shares his story.
"During the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, I was there as one of the representatives from the HKPF to bear witness, and at the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, I was there too," said Lau Chak-kei, a Hong Kong police sergeant who is remembered by many netizens for the heroic moment when he and other police officers were surrounded by a gang of black-clad rioters in July 2019.
On the occasion of celebrating the 25th anniversary of the city's return to the motherland, we bid farewell to the era of saying "Yes, Sir!", "for which I was very excited and felt proud; many memories flashed back in my head," Lau told the Global Times in a recent interview.
Born in 1973, Lau went to a local primary school where there was always a picture of a foreign lady hanging on the wall, "and we called her 'Queen of the England'," he said. "But I had many questions such as why we had different-colored skin and hair, and why we spoke Chinese but she spoke English."
"When I grew older, I went to the library and learned from the history books that hundreds of years ago, our country had been extremely poor and foreigners had occupied Hong Kong by force. When I read those stories, my eyes were full of tears," he said.
Nowadays, apart from safeguarding the national security, Hong Kong police also aim to draw strength from the whole community to counter terrorism, advance crime prevention and elimination, address issues of public concern, and build stronger ties with communities and different sectors of Hong Kong society, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
'We are Chinese'
Lau joined the HKPF in 1993, starting a chapter of exciting moments for him. One of the moments was on July 1, 1997: The moment when the city returned to the motherland, and he, along with his colleagues, took off the old badges from their police caps and replaced them with HKSAR badges. Another was when the police force embraced more new changes on the occasion of 25th anniversary of the city's return such as adopting Chinese-style marching, new uniforms for counterterrorism units, and calling out command in Chinese rather than the English "Yes, Sir!"
Those moments were exciting because we realized that Hong Kong had finally "returned home," but over the last few years, some people forgot that they are Chinese and they hindered the city's development, which finally triggered the social turmoil in 2019, Lau said.
On the occasion of celebrating the 25th anniversary of the city's return to the motherland, we bid farewell to the era of saying "Yes, Sir!", "for which I was very excited and felt proud; many memories flashed back in my head," Lau told the Global Times in a recent interview.
Born in 1973, Lau went to a local primary school where there was always a picture of a foreign lady hanging on the wall, "and we called her 'Queen of the England'," he said. "But I had many questions such as why we had different-colored skin and hair, and why we spoke Chinese but she spoke English."
"When I grew older, I went to the library and learned from the history books that hundreds of years ago, our country had been extremely poor and foreigners had occupied Hong Kong by force. When I read those stories, my eyes were full of tears," he said.
Nowadays, apart from safeguarding the national security, Hong Kong police also aim to draw strength from the whole community to counter terrorism, advance crime prevention and elimination, address issues of public concern, and build stronger ties with communities and different sectors of Hong Kong society, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
'We are Chinese'
Lau joined the HKPF in 1993, starting a chapter of exciting moments for him. One of the moments was on July 1, 1997: The moment when the city returned to the motherland, and he, along with his colleagues, took off the old badges from their police caps and replaced them with HKSAR badges. Another was when the police force embraced more new changes on the occasion of 25th anniversary of the city's return such as adopting Chinese-style marching, new uniforms for counterterrorism units, and calling out command in Chinese rather than the English "Yes, Sir!"
Those moments were exciting because we realized that Hong Kong had finally "returned home," but over the last few years, some people forgot that they are Chinese and they hindered the city's development, which finally triggered the social turmoil in 2019, Lau said.
The night view of Hong Kong Photo: VCG
The veteran Hong Kong sergeant was remembered by many as he and his team were surrounded and outnumbered by a large group of anti-government rioters on the night of July 30, 2019. At that night, a man was beaten unconscious by a mob because of his political views, and Lau, with his team, rushed to the site outside the police station in Kwai Chung to rescue the man but were attacked by the rioters with bricks and sticks. Lau grabbed his shotgun loaded with beanbag rounds, and pointed it at the rioters as a warning but did not fire a single shot.
"HKPF has the capability of handling these rioters. They are Chinese too. We couldn't open fire [against our compatriots]," Lau told the Global Times in a message after this incident.
This moment was captured by some Western media outlets which distortedly portrayed Lau as the poster child for "police brutality." But many more Chinese netizens came forward, sending overwhelming support for the veteran police officer, hailing him as a hero amid the darkest time in Hong Kong.
"We have not wavered on our duty to protect Hong Kong. Fortunately, with the implementation of the NSL for Hong Kong, the HKPF lived up to its trusted authority and calmed the chaos," he told the Global Times.
Meaningful changes
On the occasion of 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, many like Lau witnessed the city's development and its "rebirth through fire." Now with over 1 million followers on Chinese Twitter-like Weibo, Lau communicates frequently with the netizens on the mainland, sharing his thoughts about the city's future.
"We changed from calling out command from English to Chinese. Such changes are indeed meaningful, highlighting where we belong," Lau said.
On July 1, the HKPF officially abandoned British-style foot drills and now performs PLA's Chinese-style foot drills, which is widely seen as a symbolic change and a removal of a legacy of colonialism, which is significant for the country and for the HKSAR.
Lau noted that he along with his colleagues have been making efforts to adapt to these changes.
Police officers perform Chinese-style foot drills during an open day event for National Security Education Day at the Hong Kong Police College in Hong Kong, China, on April 15, 2021. Starting from October 2021, all officers in Hong Kong have been trained in the PLA-style foot drills with the help of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison. Photo: VCG
The new changes of Hong Kong police have attracted much attention especially on social media with many hailing the Chinese-style foot drills which fully underscore the HKPF's spirit in the new era.
Such a move also demonstrates that our police officers are patriots and will enhance the public awareness of their identity as Chinese nationals and cultivate the sentiment of love for their country and Hong Kong, Hong Kong Junior Police Officers' Association Chairman Lam Chi-wai said.
Besides the changes in the social order, Lau said he expected to see more positive changes in the education sector, as how young people in Hong Kong are educated will decide the city's future.
"Although I'm a police officer, what I'm concerned with most is not public safety but education," Lau said in a Weibo post, which was praised by thousands of netizens.
"Hong Kong lacks information to help students correctly understand our country. Hopefully, we'll have such education in the future to help shape correct understanding among the young people," he said in another post.
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