CRI听力：Hong Kong after 1997: Edition Ten

PLA Garrison Contributes to the Prosperity of HK

On July 1, 1997, the day of Hong Kong's historic return to China, the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison moved into the region on the orders of the Central Military Commission.

Ten years have passed. It is held by all that the PLA Garrison has respected the Hong Kong SAR government and the Hong Kong people.

Their contribution to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong is also affirmed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Hong Kong Chief Executive, Donald Tsang.

Our reporter Dan Dan has the story.

Reporter:

Wang Jitang, Commander of the PLA garrison troop in Hong Kong, says the garrison has firmly put into practice the principle of "one country, two systems".

It has always observed the Basic Law and the law governing the PLA garrison in the region.

Wang Jitang says the garrison and the SAR government don't impinge upon or interfere with each other in any way. Moreover, they enjoy mutual understanding, support and trust.

"The PLA garrison is actually an important symbol of the central government's resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong. In the past decade, we've established many communication channels with different departments of the SAR government. Our garrison has served as an important force in maintaining prosperity and stability of Hong Kong."

Meanwhile, Zhang Rucheng, the political commissar of the PLA Garrison in Hong Kong, says that the garrison and the SAR government had a coordination mechanism to cope with emergency events.

"The PLA provides assistance whenever necessary. For instance, during the SARS outbreak in 2003, the Garrison had prepared contingency plans. It also shared information with the police in 2005 when protests were held during the World Trade Organization ministerial conference."

In addition to establishing action plans for emergency events, the PLA Garrison also conducted drills with relevant authorities of the SAR government.

Apart from handling defense affairs of Hong Kong, Zhang Rucheng says, the Garrison has also maintained a civilized image.

The conduct of the soldiers was fine despite the incident in which an off-duty officer had taken away a 35-Hong Kong-dollar key chain without paying it in Hong Kong Disneyland last February.

"The Garrison would fully cooperate with the police and judiciary, while that officer would be subject to disciplinary action based on military rules. But this was the only case of violating rules during our 10 years of service in Hong Kong. This is an individual case."

Zhang Rucheng adds that there were 70 cases of British soldiers violating rules a year before the reunification. Therefore, the image of PLA garrison in local people's mind is already relatively good.

But, Zhang Rucheng says, the Garrison would continue strengthening legal education among the soldiers as well as their sense of upholding the law.

In order toenhance public understanding of the army, Zhang Rucheng says, they've launched many activities, such as the army opening day.

"Such activities have drawn the Hong Kong residents and the army closer to each other. Local people here have demonstrated more trust, support and care for us."

So far, the PLA Garrison has held 14 opening-day activities, attracting 270,000 visitors.

There's also good news for Hong Kong's youths. Wang Jitang, commander of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison, says they may be able to join the PLA in future, though the country currently still has no plan to recruit Hong Kong people as soldiers.

These days, the PLA Garrison is busy rehearsing for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return.

Apart from staging performances, the more important task for the army is definitely to ensure security in all celebration activities.

Thankyou, Dan Dan.

Established at the same time as the PLA Garrison in Hong Kong, the Office of the Commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong is also about to celebrate its 10th birthday. What has this office achieved over the past decade? We'll tell you the details after a short break.

Since its establishment, the Commissioner's Office in Hong Kong has shouldered the mission of exercising sovereignty in foreign affairs. Shen Ting has more.

Reporter:

Over the past decade, the Commissioner's Office has given support to Hong Kong in its exchanges and cooperation with all countries and regions in various fields - such as trade and the economy, science and technology, public health, sports, tourism and the media.

The Office has worked closely with the SAR government and Chinese embassies and consulates to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Hong Kong residents abroad.

Since the establishment of the office in 1997, according to the Basic Law, the SAR government has sent its officials to take part in some 900 international conferences as Chinese delegation members. It has also hosted over 60 international conferences, with the assistance of the commissioner's office.

The office has also handled some 850 cases of judicial assistance in notification and review between the Special Administrative Region and other countries, and processed applications from over 40 countries to establish consulates in Hong Kong in the past decade.

With that, we wrap up this edition of the CRI special series, "Hong Kong after 1997".

This time tomorrow, we'll talk about Hong Kong as the freest economy in the world.

How has the region maintained this title for as much as 13 consecutive years?

To find out more, please tune in to "News and Reports" tomorrow, right here on China Radio International.

I'm Li Peichun, see you tomorrow.