Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has led 360 representatives from Hong Kong – the city’s largest-ever delegation – in attending a military parade in Beijing to mark China’s victory over Japan in World War II, while other senior officials, students and residents observed commemorative events held locally.
Held along Changan Avenue in central Beijing, the parade on Wednesday morning, among several events to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, lasted around 90 minutes.
Before the parade started, President Xi Jinping and leaders of other countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, shook hands with six Chinese veterans, including 94-year-old Law King-fai from Hong Kong.
When Xi shook hands with Law, he called the Hong Kong veteran “an old hero.”
Law was part of the Hong Kong Independent Battalion of the Dongjiang Column, a guerrilla force, during the war.
