25 · Through thick and thin | Youth police officer: HK has given me a lot and I want to give back

"The police is a disciplinary force that is always at the forefront and closest to the public." For 25-year-old Inspector Michael Leung Yu-lung, it has been his dream since his childhood to put on a police uniform and help the public.

Born into a grassroots family of four in a public housing estate, Leung received a lot of help and support from the community and the government. Growing up in such an environment, he gradually had the thought to give back to society one day.

As far back as he can remember, HK has always been a stable and safe city. However, in 2014, there was a sudden outbreak of the " Occupy Central" movement, which led to many illegal acts and seriously affected the normal life of the public. During that time, the police worked very hard at the frontline to prevent criminal acts and did their best to maintain law and order in HK, Leung recalled. Witnessing all this, Leung then made up his mind to join the HK Police Force.

After learning about the Auxiliary Undergraduate Scheme (AUS) through a friend while he was at university, he applied as a student and joined the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force in 2018.

During the summer vacation in 2019, Leung went to the Mainland with a university exchange group as an auxiliary police officer. The moment he got off the plane in HK, he was shocked by the sight before him, unable to believe that such riots would happen in the city where he had lived for more than 20 years.

As an auxiliary police officer, he very quickly got involved in Operation Treadmill, a campaign to maintain law and order and stop violence and chaos. In the face of the crisis, Leung and many of his colleagues in Force didn't back down but do their part to protect HK despite the danger.

"I was born a month before HK's handover to the motherland and as far back as I can remember, HK has always been part of China," said Leung. Over the course of the past 25 years, he has seen that HK was getting better and better in terms of people's livelihood and infrastructure.

"If there is one word to describe HK, it would be 'family.' A big family." To Leung, HK is his home and the people living here are his family. "Although there are inevitable arguments, there's always a way to solve problems within a family," he told us.

"HK has given him a sense of security and the resources he needs throughout my growing process, so naturally, I want to give back to the community that has supported me so much," he said.