HK officers to adopt Chinese goosestep

HONG KONG police are to replace British foot drills with the Chinese-style goosestep to “enhance patriotism”.

Police in the territory, which was under British rule until 1997, traditionally used a marching style that was a regimented walk with wide swinging arms, a step fashioned in Britain with local adaptations.

But from July, they will switch to the goosestep style, characterised by stiff, straight legs, which is performed by the People’s Liberation Army and has a long history in China. The difficult marching style originated with the Prussian army in the 17th century and is often associated with the blind obedience of authoritarian regimes in the Western imagination, although it is also used ceremonially by democratic forces.

The switch will coincide with the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese control from the British. The change has been gradually introduced but it will become part of daily routines.

A government press release says the move is to signal a closer relationship between Hong Kong and Beijing, which has cracked down on the region’s freedoms in recent years and sought to exert greater control over the semiautonomous city.