4,000 Troops Will Arrive Just After Takeover British Criticize Move As ‘An Appalling Signal To Send’

China will waste no time asserting its authority over Hong Kong, dispatching 4,000 troops across the border just six hours after Britain formally returns the territory to Chinese control at midnight Monday.

The office of incoming Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa announced that the troops will arrive by warships, helicopters, armored carriers and other vehicles to four bases in the territory, including two in urban areas.

British Gov. Chris Patten immediately criticized China’s decision as “a most appalling signal to send to the people of Hong Kong.”

Patten said Hong Kong was noted for its “stability and harmony” and the arrival of the armored cars at dawn would coincide with network television news in the United States.

“That doesn’t seem to me to be the right sort of signal to send to the international community, and above all I think it is a most unfortunate signal to send to the people in Hong Kong,” Patten said.

It has long been known that China will establish a Hong Kong garrison of about 10,000 troops - or roughly the same size as the British military presence in Hong Kong.

But while British troops here are seen as somewhat of a colonial oddity, including Black Watch troops in kilts and Gurkha fighters from Nepal, the People’s Liberation Army is still distrusted for its gunning down of demonstrators during the 1989 Tiananmen protests.

“We don’t need so many, and we don’t need them coming in such a fashion, by air, land and sea,” Emily Lau, a pro-democracy legislator, told the Reuters news agency. “I don’t think it’s necessary, but they like to act the bully.”

The announcement of the PLA’s arrival has put a damper on the handover excitement that is visibly building in the city.

Under the incoming government’s plans, Hong Kong police will continue to be responsible for law and order, but the PLA could be used to quell serious public disorders.

The PLA will send in troops via 21 armored troop carriers and 400 other vehicles. It also will deploy 10 naval vessels and six helicopters.

China’s military is conscious of its image problem.

Soldiers who will work in Hong Kong have been given new, more relaxed uniforms featuring berets. State-run television, meanwhile, has broadcast footage of soldiers learning English.