"No matter how onerous the tasks are, the Police Tactical Unit (PTU) always responds professionally to challenges at the forefront and it has undoubtedly become the protector of the public," said the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, when he inspected a PTU passing-out parade on November 21.

Speaking at the parade, he said: "The PTU is the backbone of the Force. Evolving from only two platoons in the early years, the PTU now has some 1,000 members. Its duties have all along been closely linked to the pulse of the community and kept abreast of social changes. It was renowned as the 'Anti-riot Vanguard' in the early days and later as the eradicator of illegal immigration.

"Nowadays, the PTU also takes up the task of crowd control. When there is a major incident or event, members of the PTU will certainly be deployed to maintain public order."

The PTU, formerly known as the Police Tactical Contingent, was established as early as in 1958. Its campsite was situated at today's Fanling training camp. The Contingent was renamed the Police Tactical Unit in 1968 and in 1969 the beret was first worn by PTU officers, leading to the Unit becoming known as the "Blue Beret".

Mr Lee said this excellent unit of Blue Berets continued to go forward and provided quality services to the public. Apart from improvement to its equipment and policing strategy, the PTU also endeavoured to enhance the professional ability of its officers and groom new blood.

He was fully confident that the graduating trainees, with the professional training they had received and esprit de corps, would definitely do their utmost while facing immense challenges and difficult tasks, and would live up to public expectations.

He noted: "Following the successful hosting of the Olympic Equestrian Events this year, Hong Kong will organise the 2009 East Asian Games in the coming year. During the Olympic Equestrian Events, the Hong Kong Police Force took part in the planning and execution of the related police operational plans. The professionalism demonstrated by the Force and the PTU's dedication to duties undoubtedly led to the successful completion of the events.

"With the experience acquired in hosting the Olympic Equestrian Events, I strongly believe that the Force will be able to effectively perform police duties for the East Asian Games, and once again prove itself to be the finest law enforcement force not only in Asia, but also in the world."

A total of 170 trainees graduated on November 21.

The PTU passing-out parade concludes with a tactics demonstration