‘Let us make an even greater Hong Kong contribution’: John Lee at Beijing parade

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has led 360 representatives from Hong Kong – the city’s largest-ever delegation – to attend 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.

The parade also saw former city leader Leung Chun-ying seated at the main podium of Tiananmen Square’s gate tower. Leung, a state leader, now serves as a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisory body.

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.

Law was part of the Hong Kong Independent Battalion, a guerrilla force, during the war.

Chief Executive Lee, Hong Kong Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, and Starry Lee Wai-king, the city’s sole representative on the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, China’s top legislative body, were seen standing together on the far side of the tower watching the parade.