The previous head of the anti-terrorist unit in Xinjiang will be in command of the Chinese garrison in Hong Kong. The garrison should be geared more towards the fight against civil unrest.
Beijing / Hong Kong / Munich – China’s President Xi Jinping has appointed the former head of a special anti-terrorist unit in Xinjiang as the new commander of the Chinese army in Hong Kong. Major General Peng Jingtang, previously deputy chief of staff of the armed people’s paramilitary police in Xinjiang, will head the Hong Kong garrison in the future, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. The transfer is a sign that China in Hong Kong intends to continue its tough line against opposition activists and demonstrators without compromising.
It is true that the new post for Major General Peng is part of a larger personnel rochade, which always takes place before the Communist Party Congress of China, which takes place only every five years. Xinjiang Communist Party leader Chen Quanguo is also leaving after a recent report from Xinhua. Chen is on the EU and US sanctions lists on allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang. He will be replaced by the previous governor of the booming Guangdong Province in southern China, Ma Xiangrui. But the fact that Beijing is sending a paramilitary from Xinjiang to Hong Kong is, in spite of everything, a warning to the city’s critics of the regime.
China’s Garrison in Hong Kong: From National Defense to Counter Terrorism
It shows how much the role of the People’s Liberation Army garrison, which has been stationed in the Special Administrative Region since 1997, has changed, Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the Canadian military magazine Kanwa Asian Defense, told the newspaper South China Morning Post. The focus is now on the fight against unrest and terrorism and no longer on the defense of Hong Kong territory. “The Hong Kong garrison has acquired many anti-terrorism and counterinsurgency weapons and equipment since the anti-government protests in 2019,” said Chang. Many members of the garrison had been transferred there by the armed police. “The greatest threat in Hong Kong right now is the fight against terrorism. Peng’s expertise meets the requirements, so he was selected, ”said Song Zhongping, a military commentator and former PLA instructor, in the newspaper’s assessment of Chang.
Beijing has massively expanded its influence since the mass pro-democracy protests of 2019. The controversial “Security Act” introduced in 2020 also enables security officers from the People’s Republic to act openly in the city. Dozens of activists have since been arrested. Several critical media and non-governmental organizations have since given up, most recently the opposition online publication Stand news.
Hong Kong: Little known about the new garrison chief
Little is known about Major General Peng’s career. Three years ago, the Xinhua agency, Reference News, reported that Peng was in charge of the “Mountain Eagle” special unit in Xinjiang, which was newly formed “for anti-terrorism needs in the region and across China”. In Xinjiang, up to a million Muslim Uyghurs are reported to have been interned in re-education camps. How many of them are still in these camps is unclear. Beijing denies all allegations and describes these camps as training centers. (ck / AFP)
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