Hong Kong watchers were startled, asking if “this was it”, when videos and images started emerging of Chinese troops and armored trucks entering Hong Kong.
Subsequent media reports, notably from the People’s Daily, suggested that this military maneuver which took place in the “wee hours of Thursday”, was due to the 22nd annual rotation of the People’s Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong.
The #HongKong Garrison of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted the 22nd rotation of its members in the wee hours of Thursday since it began garrisoning Hong Kong in 1997. pic.twitter.com/MMqaZCCRov
— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) August 29, 2019
Local media reported that the move, approved by the Central Military Commission, “is normal routine annual rotation in line with the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Garrisoning the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which stipulates that “the Hong Kong Garrison shall practice a system of rotation of its members.” – READ MORE