City garrison of People’s Liberation Army releases video on Weibo showing live-fire exercises around the Tsing Shan firing range area in Tuen Mun.
The People’s Liberation Army has released a video showing armoured personnel carriers driving through the streets of Hong Kong, before completing a live-fire exercise in the countryside around the city.
A one-minute video showing soldiers training around the Tsing Shan firing range area in Tuen Mun was uploaded to the Hong Kong garrison’s official Weibo account on Saturday.
Vehicles are seen leaving what appears to be the Pat Heung garrison under the cover of darkness, and later shows soldiers shooting at targets with live ammunition from rifles, rocket launchers, and from guns mounted on the cars.
In the video, the garrison said the drill was conducted “in a combative atmosphere”, with elements of pragmatic strategies.
“[The training] enhanced their thinking skills in conducting an operation and effectively advanced the team’s overall ability in fighting,” it said.
Although it is rare to see footage of a military vehicle driving on a road in Hong Kong, this was not the first time the garrison has released footage of training exercises.
A clip was released June 30 showing garrison troops testing their ability to intercept fugitives attempting to flee the city by boat – the same day Beijing’s top legislative body passed a national security law for Hong Kong.
The exercise involved ground, navy, and air force personnel, while special troops, air defence soldiers, warships, and aircraft carried out maritime and island searches to “comprehensively test the Hong Kong garrison’s defence capabilities”, state broadcaster CCTV said at the time.