Sing Tao Probe | Hong Kong police youth corps dances national security dragon at heritage festival

Hong Kong celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with the traditional Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, which this year featured the debut of a youth-led national security dragon performing alongside the centennial heritage centerpiece through the packed streets of Causeway Bay.

The customary 67-meter dragon, embedded with 12,000 burning incense sticks and maneuvered by a relay of more than 300 performers, wound through neighborhood streets to pray for community peace and citywide prosperity, drawing crowds of local residents and international visitors.

Junior Police Call introduces purple national security dragon

Joining the centuries-old ritual for the first time was the national security fire dragon, carried by over 20 members of the Junior Police Call. The initiative was designed to advance cultural security and social stability under the holistic view of national security.

The newly crafted dragon measured approximately 20 meters in length and weighed 35 kilograms, constructed using rattan, rope, and pearl grass. In a departure from traditional design, the dragon body featured the signature purple hue of the Hong Kong Police Force National Security Department, signifying auspicious fortune, and was adorned with glowing sticks to symbolize the dispelling of security threats and the safeguarding of the city's high-quality development.

Police emphasize cultural security and heritage transmission

Acting Director of National Security Kenneth Kwok Ka-chuen said the department was privileged to participate in the centennial celebration with the endorsement of the Tai Hang Residents' Welfare Association. 

He noted that besides setting up informational booths to distribute anti-crime, anti-fraud, and national security souvenirs, the core focus of the outreach centered on promoting cultural security as an essential dimension of overall national security.

Kwok explained that assembling a Junior Police Call team to perform the dance allowed young participants to directly experience traditional festival culture, thereby fostering patriotic sentiments and cultivating a heightened sense of responsibility toward national security.

Rigorous apprenticeship fosters youth teamwork and civic pride

The youth troupe prepared for their public debut through structured training that began in mid-September under the mentorship of Cheung Kwok-ho, vice chairman of the Tai Hang Residents' Welfare Association. 

Cheung provided hands-on instruction regarding the craft of dragon fabrication as well as performance choreography, emphasizing that successful execution relies entirely on mutual trust, coordination, and team solidarity to bring the dragon to life with fluid grace.

Participating members reported that the performance demanded immense physical stamina, noting that while the movements appeared effortless from the sidelines, actual handling left their arms exhausted yet yielded a profound sense of accomplishment. 

Another participant observed that traditional community festivities can only flourish against a backdrop of public order and social stability, emphasizing that shared civic responsibility ensures residents can continue enjoying such cultural traditions year after year.

Listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2011, the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance has endured for more than a century through successive generations of community effort. 

Organizers noted that the inclusion of the youth corps not only injected youthful vitality into the folk custom, but also blended cultural preservation with national security awareness to pass patriotic values down to the next generation.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓