China stationed its military forces in Hong Kong during the wee hours of August 29 while terming it as a regular drill amid doubts that the Chinese troops might interfere in Hong Kong's protests for pro-democracy. Video graphic evidence from a CCTV showed a group of armored carriers, trucks and a patrol boat crossing the border at night from the Shenzhen, that acts as a neighboring city. A big mass of military personnel ran in simultaneously onto the trucks that were headed for different ports and points that provided entry into Hong Kong. 

The Chinese presence in Hong Kong

A senior official in the force told his troops "This time the task has a glorious mission. The responsibility is great. The job is difficult" before they left for the set destination. He also said, “The time for a true test has arrived!”

Approximately 3 months of violent protests against the government, there have been doubts that the Chinese military will be stationed in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The fresh batch of soldiers deployed in Hong Kong was made aware of the laws governing Hong Kong and made a promise to uphold the nation's supreme power or authority. 

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The squadron's second in command, Liu Zhaohui, said: “We will firmly follow the command of (the ruling Communist Party)". He also spoke about upholding the rules of one country, two systems structure and the Basic law and the Garrison Law of Hong Kong. Hong Kong was a former British colony that was given back to China in 1997 keeping in mind the one country, two systems layout, which provided the city with a selected set of democratic rights. In the past few years, people staying IN Hong Kong have accused Beijing of stripping off the rights that they enjoyed.

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A provision in the Garrison law

Responding to a question, China's Defense Ministry talked about a provision in the Garrison Law that gives the troops positioned in Hong Kong to maintain peace and order on the behest of the city government. Although, the officials in Hong Kong were of the opinion that they could take care of the situation on their own.
The last sanctioned rotation of the Hong Kong squadron happened a year earlier. Although the Xinhua report on the previous rotation does not talk about the term sovereignty or one country, two systems framework. 

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(With inputs from AP)