Chinese army soldiers who cleaned up Hong Kong streets are top counterterrorism troops

Conspicuous.

Belmont Lay | November 18, 2019, 12:44 PM

The soldiers seen on Hong Kong streets carrying out clean-up work on Saturday, Nov. 16, are from the leading counterterrorism brigades in China's People's Liberation Army, South China Morning Post reported.

They reportedly marched from their Kowloon garrison to help clear roadblocks.

Brightly coloured jerseys

Dressed in conspicuous colourful basketball jerseys, the soldiers in the fluorescent orange and blue tops carried the Chinese name, “Xuefeng Special Operations Brigade”.

They are part of the Western Theatre Command that oversees a vast area in the west of China, including Xinjiang and Tibet, the China military mouthpiece PLA Daily said in earlier reports.

Why exactly are they stationed in Hong Kong now is anybody's guess.

A week before their Hong Kong street appearance, the troops from the brigade featured in a report on the military channel of China’s state broadcaster CCTV.

The likely propaganda piece showed the soldiers searching for objects in rooms filled with tear gas, and without the aid of face masks, SCMP reported.

Showed up on streets unannounced

It is unknown how long soldiers from the Xuefeng brigade have been stationed in Hong Kong, or even how many were deployed on Saturday to clean up the streets.

Information about the movements and deployments of China’s military units is closely guarded.

But the deployment of PLA troops is almost clockwork-like.

In August, Beijing moved thousands of troops across the border into Hong Kong.

The operation was described by state news agency Xinhua at the time as a routine “rotation”.

Also conspicuous to observers was the detail that the exercise was not accompanied by an official announcement stating the amount of troops and equipment stationed in the city was unchanged.

This was unlike previous rotations.

Up to 12,000 troops are now believed to be based across Hong Kong.

This is twice the usual garrison number.

PLA in Hong Kong can cause potential problems

The soldiers from China could also be seen as trying to make an impression on the public and allow people to get used to them carrying out activities outside the barracks.

Their presence could present a new set of problems and ignite old ones.

The worry is that clashes can occur and this can lead to justification for bringing in more troops and weaponry to deal with the situation.