The opening ceremony for the first military summer camp for Hong Kong college students was held in a camp of the People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison on Aug. 8, 2011. During the 11-day camp, 100 students, 75 boys and 25 girls, from universities in Hong Kong will take part in a series of activities, such as military and discipline training and special lectures, and encounter new weapons.
Zhang Shibo, commander of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison, said in his speech at the opening ceremony that the PLA Hong Kong Garrison has successfully held seven military youth summer camps with support from all walks of life in Hong Kong since 2005.
All of the previous 1,200 camp participants were civic-minded middle and high school students. This is the first time for them to organize a camp for college students, which aims to improve mutual understanding between the PLA Hong Kong Garrison and Hong Kong residents and allow more Hong Kong residents to be familiar with the military.
Zhang said that college students were energetic, full of vigor, knowledgeable and creative. He hoped they could train their willpower and moral character through the military camp. He encouraged all participants to carry forward the glorious tradition and lay a solid foundation for loving the motherland, loving Hong Kong, serving the country and realizing lofty ideas.
According to camp organizers, the camp, which runs from Aug. 7 to Aug. 17, has made some adjustment from the camp designed for middle and high school students in terms of military training and theory. There will be more physical exercises, formation drills, matches and live ammunition exercises. They will also have opportunities to visit naval and air bases, take a closer look at the new weapons and watch military exercises.
A student from the Chinese University of Hong Kong said that he hoped to learn the spirit of serving the country from garrison troops, temper his willpower and make a contribution to China’s development and national revitalization. He also noted that he would definitely carry forward the spirit following the training and pass it to as many Hong Kong residents as he could.
Source: People’s Daily