Hong Kong Army Cadets Association Limited
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The Hong Kong Army Cadets Association (), established on 18 January 2015, is a Hong Kong Uniformed Youth Group (), it is connected with the
People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison The People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defence duties in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to ...
and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong. Established with the aims "To contribute the city and serve the Fatherland". The ''Hong Kong Army Cadets Association'' is a development of the ''Military Summer Camp For Hong Kong Youth'' () scheme organised by Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping, the wife of former
Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...
Tung Chee-hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chin ...
, and the core of the estimated 2000 strong membership is made up of attendees of the summer camps; the target membership of the Association is children and youths from the age of six upwards. Of the Hong Kong Uniformed Youth Groups, the Association is the only one to use
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
military drill A drill is a tool or machine for cutting holes in a material. Drill may also refer to: Animals * Drill (animal), a type of African primate * Oyster drill, a type of snail Military * Military exercise * Foot drill, the movements performed on a p ...
, and its uniforms, emblems and structure is based on that of the PLA.


Organisation

The Chairman of the ''Hong Kong Army Cadets Association Limited'' is Tai Tak Fung () of the ''Four Seas Group''. Founders and patrons of the Association include
Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...
Leung Chun-ying Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Mar ...
, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong
Zhang Xiaoming Zhang Xiaoming (; born 3 September 1963) is a Chinese politician. He was the director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong and then of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, before being demoted to deputy direc ...
and Commander of the
People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison The People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defence duties in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to ...
Tan Benhong Tan Benhong (; born May 1957) is a lieutenant general ('' zhongjiang'') of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). He was commander of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison in Hong Kong from July 2014 until April 2019. Tan formerly served as commander of ...
. The board, chaired by
National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2, ...
for Hong Kong
Bunny Chan Bunny Chan Chung-bun (; born 1957) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He is the former chairman of the Kwun Tong District Council, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress of China and the chairman of the Hong Kong Army Cadet ...
(), is composed of PRC officials in Hong Kong and members of the
Pro-Beijing camp The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp, pro-government camp or pro-China camp refers to a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) t ...
, Commander in Chief of the corps is
Regina Leung Regina Leung Tong Ching-yee (; born 5 February 1957) is a former solicitor in Hong Kong. She is the wife of Leung Chun-ying, the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Early life and marriage Regina Tong was born at Tsan Yuk Hospital, the teach ...
the wife of Leung Chun-ying.


History

The Association builds on the work of the ''Military Summer Camp For Hong Kong Youth'' () scheme headed by Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping, the wife of former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Tung Chee-hwa. The summer camp program began in 2005 running for two weeks every July. Aimed at secondary school students from the third to sixth years (ages 14 to 17) the summer camps featured a program of leadership training, military drill, Junshi Sanda and an education program to further understanding of the PRC and PLA. The Association was registered as a
Limited Company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...
with Companies Registry (CR) on January 15, 2015, in the same month on the 18th, the Association held an establishment ceremony at Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base, in attendance were representatives from a number of Hong Kong youth organisations, including the
Scout Association of Hong Kong The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Catho ...
,
Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Hong Kong Girl Guides Association () is the sole Guide organisation in Hong Kong. It was formally established in 1919 though the first Girl Guides Company was formed in 1916. The association became a full member of the World Association of Girl G ...
,
Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps The Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps () is a voluntary uniformed group (although employees working at headquarters are paid) subsidised by the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong government and is registered under the Societies Ordinance as a non-pro ...
, and the
Boys' Brigade, Hong Kong The Boys' Brigade, Hong Kong ( Short-form: BBHK) is a branch of the Boys' Brigade. It is a uniformed youth organisation (香港青少年制服團體) founded in 1959, currently with more than 200 companies. Structure BBHK is divided into fo ...
amongst others. Attendees on the part of the government included Secretary for Security, Mr
Lai Tung-kwok Lai Tung-kwok, GBS, IDSM, JP (; born 12 November 1951 in Hong Kong) is a retired civil servant and principal official who held the position of Secretary for Security of Hong Kong between 2012 and 2017. He previously served as Under Secretary ...
, and the Secretary for Education
Eddie Ng Eddie Ng Hak-kim GBS, JP (, born c. 1953) is a former Secretary for Education in the Hong Kong Government. From 2017, he is a temporary adjunct professor at the MBA Centre of Shanghai University.Wen Wei Po ''Wen Wei Po'' is a pro-Beijing State media, state-owned newspapers in Hong Kong, newspaper based in Hong Kong. The newspaper was established in Hong Kong on 9 September 1948, after Wenhui Bao, its Shanghai edition was launched in 1938. Its h ...
being shown special favour.


Reception

Legislative councillor Regina Ip of the pro-Beijing political party New People's Party said of the establishment of the Association that it "allows the young people of Hong Kong greater training opportunities, to broaden their outlook, to encounter different things and situations, and allows them to know and understand how the People's Liberation Army works." while Legislative councillor
Priscilla Leung Priscilla Leung Mei-fun (; born 18 November 1960, Hong Kong) is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She ...
of the pro-Beijing political party Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong said "This official move, encourages the youth to engage with the mainland, and cultivates their sense of belonging and duty, this is both normal and reasonable."


Controversies

In November 2016, the Association was granted the lease of a disused school in Kowloon over two other long established groups the
Boys' Brigade, Hong Kong The Boys' Brigade, Hong Kong ( Short-form: BBHK) is a branch of the Boys' Brigade. It is a uniformed youth organisation (香港青少年制服團體) founded in 1959, currently with more than 200 companies. Structure BBHK is divided into fo ...
and the
Hong Kong Adventure Corps The Hong Kong Adventure Corps is a voluntary uniformed group subsidised by the Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong Jockey Club. It was created in 1995 with ties to the British Army's Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force. Like the Hong ...
both with many more members than the Association. Although the process was described as transparent and fair by the government, the move was seen as an example of favouritism by others; especially since the Association's finances was seen as being one of the factors in which it was superior, however a large part of the Associations finances derive from expedited grants from the SAR government.


See also

* Civic Passion, a localist Hong Kong political movement that announced that it would be creating a youth program that would feature military style training *
Pioneer movement A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically join the Young Communist League ...


Notes

The Association shares a similar name to the pre-existing ''Hong Kong Army Cadets'', the Hong Kong Army Cadets is not a recognised uniformed group by the Hong Kong Government, is not a registered company but is registered under the SAR's societies legislation, unlike the Association the ''Hong Kong Army Cadets'' use British Army based drill, uniforms, structure and firearms.


References

{{Hong Kong cadets Youth organisations based in Hong Kong Army cadet organisations