The plot continues to thicken around the newly formed Hong Kong Army Cadets Association (HKACA) after some youngsters claimed they were unwittingly made to appear as members at the inauguration ceremony on Sunday.
Suspicions were already raised when the public heard that the group’s patrons include Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung and his wife, and General Tan Benhong, the commander of the PLA.
The ceremony was also held at a restricted naval base on Stonecutters Island with very limited media outlets invited to cover the event.
However, it sure did get a lot of press, although seemingly for all the wrong reasons.
Now several children have come out saying they were duped into appearing as one of hundreds who were said to have signed up to the association.
One student said he saw the event advertised as a PLA summer camp on social media and attended out of curiosity, while another claimed his whole school year group was told by the teachers that they had to go.
Others said they were lured with the promise of a PLA uniform. Fair play. You can never prepare too early for Halloween.
Bunny Chan, the association’s chairman and head of Hong Kong’s Youth Commission, admitted today that only a few dozen of the youths at the ceremony had signed up as members. The rest were just attendees, he said, according to the SCMP.
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