If the setting was anywhere else in China, no one would have given it a second glance.
Red banners and breathless speeches extolling Beijing’s leadership. Music glorifying the police. A pageant featuring smiling youngsters in martial arts gear.
“Remember, dear children,” a local security official announced during the April event, “our nation must be secure for our homes to be safe.”
But it was Hong Kong, where four years ago, millions took to the streets to protest against exactly this — Beijing’s influence and the police. Even today, the reason behind this “celebration” choreographed by the Communist Party is widely disliked.
It was a ceremony
