Page 8 - Police World Edition 2 2013

Police World Vol 58 No.2 2013 8
Article
Is it worth travelling 6000 miles to experience IPA hospitality in Asia? Brian Kennedy, Publicity Officer
for 2 Region, asked himself that question and decided there was only one way to find out.
H ong Kong, an evocative and inspiring
city and one that has been on my to-
do list for many years. I had the good
fortune recently to visit this ex-British colony
accompanied by my friend and colleague Tim
Hedgley, an ex-police officer, long time IPA
member and currently the Travel Editor for the
Irish independent - Ireland's biggest selling
newspaper. This was a working trip for Tim
mixed with the opportunity for IPA hospitality for
us both. Prior to travel I had contacted Jack
Tam, Secretary General for Section Hong Kong
to introduce ourselves. We didn't require
hosting, just some good local knowledge and
savvy travellers' tips. Also I had made the
fortuitous contact with an Inspector in the
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI),
Cleland Rogers, who was an ex-Hong Kong
police officer. Between them, these two
individuals created an outstanding travel
experience which I will never forget.
On landing at Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok
airport, I was immediately struck by the
enormity of everything in this ever so tiny part
of China where the square yard is at a premium
and a 500 square foot apartment can easily
cost £1 million, the most expensive real estate
in the world. Replacing the iconic Kai Tak
airport in 1998 and built, not surprisingly, on a
man made island reclaimed from the sea, Chek
Lap Kok is the 10th largest in the world
servicing over 53 million passengers per
annum. It is also one of the cleanest and most
efficient places I have ever visited, impressions
which would very much set the tone for all of
my experiences in Hong Kong.
After a day or two seeing some sights, doing a
little bit of work and not buying anything (this is
one seriously expensive city) we made our way
to the Hong Kong Police College in Aberdeen on
HK Island. Established in 2006, this is an
impressive facility, reminiscent in many ways of
a military college, not least in terms of the
outstanding discipline and respect we
witnessed from the student officers. I hadn't
walked a parade square in 30 years (and I
certainly never warranted a salute) but as I
watched the morning parade, the magnificent
band and the millimetre perfect marching, I was
reminded of my nephew's passing out parade
at Sandhurst. We stayed two very comfortable
nights in the College for next to nothing in cost
and the experience of Chinese food for
breakfast in the officers mess, I must say, a
new one on me. Stanley Chan, Membership
Secretary for Section Hong Kong, is an
instructor there and is justifiably very proud of
this extraordinary place. He is also a fabulous
host, tour guide and friend. Whilst in Aberdeen
we made the almost mandatory visit to the
floating Jumbo restaurant, another iconic Hong
Kong image.
A trip to Victoria Peak is of course a must do
and the view is undeniably magnificent if you’re
lucky enough to get a clear day or evening. The
Peak Tramway, a funicular railway which
transports you up the 1.4 kilometres to the top,
opened in 1888 and now carries an average of
11,000 passengers a day. But, with queues as
daunting as a popular Disney ride, we opted for
the quick way up, by taxi. We met Stanley and
some IPA colleagues at the top then made our
way to a famous restaurant for a delicious
‘Poon Choi’ banquet.
The next day brought an exciting trip to the
Police Special Boat Section at Stonecutters
Island, Sham Shui Po. Eddie Tang, the Senior
Inspector there gave us a fascinating
presentation on the work of the boat section
and a tour of his fleet of fast boats and Rigid
Inflatable Boats (RIBs). The Hong Kong IPA folk
were certainly pushing the boat out for us.
No IPA visit to this city would be complete
without at least a glimpse of their sublime
police headquarters in the Wanchai district.
I’ve been to many police establishments in the
world, but I think this one takes the prize, an
amazing steel and glass skyscraper with
facilities that have to be seen to be believed.
Such a far cry from the grey, uninspiring
portacabin which is my office! Jack Tam gave
me the full guided tour and afterwards we had
lunch with Paul Renouf, the Supt. in charge of
Counterfeit and Forgery Division and I had a
chance, but very friendly, meeting with the
Deputy Commisioner, Lo Mo Hung.
Jack doesn’t do things in half measures. The
next day he picked us up and we drove up into
the New Territories to visit the ‘frontier closed
area’ (FCA) of north east Hong Kong on the
border with China. You need a special pass to
get in here through the checkpoint and they are
only given out to residents and visitors
sponsored by a resident. They are virtually
impossible to obtain for a tourist. The small
town of Sha Tau Kok lies at the end of the FCA
and this was our destination. Created by the
colonial Government in 1951 the FCA was once
regarded as one of the world’s most sensitive
areas. Although the Chinese Government is now
slowly opening up the FCA in a phased
programme between 2012 and 2015, Sha Tau
Kok will remain closed off indefinitely. Home of
the famed Chung Street, the small main
thoroughfare between mainland China and HK,
this small town radiates a strange feeling to the
outsider, simply because you do get the
impression that you shouldn’t be there. We had
a delicious lunch in the Tiger restaurant, which
is, without a doubt, one of the most exclusive
The Hong Kong Way
Tim Hedgley, Brian Kennedy and Jack Tam at Chung Ying Street - the border crossing