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Kate Chan

About 500 Hong Kong students are getting a taste of army life, with the PLA garrison launching its annual summer camp to instil patriotism and discipline, and teach military skills, among young people.
Among the new recruits is Lo Wan-lung, a Form One student at Salesian English School who is attending the two-week camp for the first time.
Attracted by the chance of weapons-related training, the young military enthusiast said he was curious to experience holding weapons during mock shooting drills.
Ahead of the camp, Lo spent days at home studying and practising how to fold his clothes and bedding into the sharp, perfectly squared “tofu blocks” required under People’s Liberation Army (PLA) standards.
“I knew that we would have to fold our bedding into ‘tofu blocks’ at the camp, so I wanted to practise in advance,” Lo said, adding that he hoped to take this opportunity to challenge himself and broaden his horizons.
“I want to improve my physical fitness and fix my irregular schedule.”


At the camp’s opening ceremony at San Wai Barracks in Fanling on Monday, Major General Zhang Chunshan, deputy commander of the PLA Hong Kong garrison, said the training would allow students to grow, while helping build a consensus in society that national security “ensures a peaceful home”.
The 19th Military Summer Camp for Hong Kong Youth and the 13th Hong Kong Tertiary Student Military Life Experience Camp run from Monday until August 16 at the barracks, with about 350 secondary pupils and 150 university students and uniformed group members taking part.
Cadets will be organised into squads modelled after PLA military units, with the programme including basic military training, specialised lectures, field visits and cultural and sports activities.
Outside the barracks, the camp for secondary students features expanded field activities, including a two-day exhibition visit to mark the 90th anniversary of the Red Army’s Long March victory, alongside the traditional trip aboard a PLA naval vessel in Victoria Harbour.
The Long March was an epic military retreat between 1934 and 1936 that was undertaken by the Communist Party’s Red Army to evade the Kuomintang army’s pursuit during the Chinese civil war. The Red Army travelled more than 9,000km over 370 days, passing through some of the country’s most difficult terrain, according to historical records.
Angus Ng Hok-ming, chairman of the organising committee for the Military Summer Camp for Hong Kong Youth, said this year’s event received more than 600 applications, compared with over 1,000 in previous years.
“Because the camp is 14 days this year – up from 10 days previously – it could be more hardcore, and some students could not make it due to prior arrangements,” Ng said, adding that most applicants this year were very enthusiastic.
First launched in 2005, the camp for secondary students is jointly organised by the garrison, the Education Bureau and the Concerted Efforts Resource Centre.
The tertiary camp, founded in 2011, is co-hosted by the garrison, the central government’s liaison office and the Hong Kong Army Cadets Association.
This marks the second consecutive year that the two camps have been held together as a combined cohort rather than separately.


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Hong Kong politics

500 Hong Kong students get taste of military life as PLA summer camp returns

The camp is being held at the San Wai Barracks in Fanling. Photo: Edmond So

The two-week camp started on Monday. Photo: Edmond So

Two camps are being held together as a combined cohort. Photo: Edmond So

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The military’s anniversary was marked with a reception and performance at Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks. Photo: Edmond So

Rear Admiral Lai Ruxin vowed the garrison would safeguard the special administrative region’s journey ahead with “staunch responsibility”. Photo: Edmond So

Chief Executive John Lee said the garrison had also forged deep ties with residents through open days held at its barracks. Photo: Edmond So

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People pose for pictures with two PLA Navy vessels at Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks on July 4. Photo: Elson Li

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Students tour the deck of the Nanning on Friday. Photo: Elson Li

Lingnan University student Savio Law said the tour served as a visual reminder of the nation’s strength. Photo: Lam Ka-sing

A pupil looks down the sights of a gun during his field trip. Photo: Elson Li

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Two-week programme includes basic military training, specialised lectures, field visits and cultural and sports activities


Two-week programme includes basic military training, specialised lectures, field visits and cultural and sports activities.


500 Hong Kong students get taste of military life as PLA summer camp returns

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Two-week programme includes basic military training, specialised lectures, field visits and cultural and sports activities

Two-week programme includes basic military training, specialised lectures, field visits and cultural and sports activities