A new uniformed youth group was officially established on Sunday in a ceremony held at the Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base. The Hong Kong Army Cadets (HKAC) group aims to enhance the civic awareness of members through activities designed to nurture a sense of social responsibility and discipline in the younger generation.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is one of the honorary sponsors, along with Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, and Tan Benhong, commander of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison, it was announced at the ceremony. Leung's wife, Regina Leung Tong Ching-yee, will serve as the first head of the new organization while former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa is the honorary chairman.

Without question, the SAR government and the central authorities attach great importance to the HKAC. Its establishment is a concrete step of strategic significance toward educating the younger generation to become responsible citizens of not just the HKSAR but the People's Republic of China (PRC) as well. This is a necessary measure in preparing the youths of Hong Kong for assuming their civic responsibilities in due time.

It is fair to say the establishment of the HKAC is a timely response to attempts by hostile forces outside Hong Kong to turn the city into a forward base for their subversive maneuvers against the PRC, mostly through their cronies in the SAR. The most alarming example of such attempts has to be the recent illegal campaign of "Occupy Central", which was spearheaded by two radical student organizations secretly funded and controlled by ill-motivated external forces.

Let no one mislead the public by accusing the SAR government and the central authorities of using this organization to "brainwash" the youths. Those who make such accusations are doing so because they want to draw public attention away from decades of brainwashing by their foreign "masters" to mold generations of Hong Kong residents into their own loyal "foot soldiers" against the Chinese nation. And they have intensified such efforts in recent years out of desperation over China's unstoppable peaceful rise.

That is why they and their cronies here fear and hate the word "patriotism" so much in the context of Hong Kong as an inseparable part of China. And that is a very good reason for Hong Kong society to be on guard against those hostile forces for its own best interest, as its continued prosperity and stability depends on the ability of future generations to contribute to the overall interests of the community.

(HK Edition 01/19/2015 page11)