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Member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) Dr Starry Lee inspected the passing-out parade for 37 probationary inspectors and 195 recruit police constables at the Police College (College) on January 25 and witnessed the moment they became members of the Force formally.
Dr Lee said in her speech that the duty of the police officers bore the trust of the community. The graduates would officially become the guardians of Hong Kong’s rule of law and shoulder the mission of maintaining law and order in the community. She believed that being a police officer was not only a profession, but also a commitment and a dedication to the society.
She continued that during their training, the graduates had experienced multiple physical and mental challenges, ranging from physical exercise, tactical training, knowledge of law to adaptability. Each course brought not only improvement of skills, but also development of tenacity. Such perseverance would be an attribute for their career development.
Pointing out Hong Kong being an international metropolis with a complex and rapidly changing security landscape, Dr Lee reckoned that law enforcement officers should possess a high degree of professionalism and sound psychological quality. The graduates would face different challenges, from dealing with emergencies, handling social conflicts, combatting crimes to serving citizens. Each duty of theirs was related to the safety of Hong Kong citizens and social stability. Coupled with new challenges emerging from technology crime, online fraud and transnational crime, the modus operandi of modern crimes was becoming more complicated. As such, she encouraged the graduates to keep pace with the times, and keep learning to be more professional and resilient in coping with various challenges ahead in their career.
She also believed that Hong Kong being part of the country, its prosperity and stability hinged on national development. She hoped that the graduates could uphold the spirit of patriotism, love the city, make every effort to safeguard national security and maintain the successful implementation of “one country, two systems”.
She emphasised that police were not only the law enforcers, but also the guardians of the citizens; and the Police’s professionalism, fairness and responsibility in serving the public were essential for gaining public support. Therefore, she hoped the police to uphold their integrity and honesty, and carry out every task cautiously at all time, so as to let the public feel the professionalism and care of the Force.
Finally, she encouraged the graduates to remain true to their original aspiration and take upholding social justice as their responsibility, thereby becoming the trusted guardians of the citizens and a driving force of the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong.
