HONG KONG, May 5. /TASS/. Hong Kong has joined the Immortal Regiment international action for the first time as almost one hundred people gathered in the city center on Sunday. The event attracted Russians, Russian-speaking immigrants, as well as representatives of mixed families with children and a few Chinese, TASS correspondent reported.
"Immortal Regiment has reached Hong Kong for the first time this year. The event has been held in Beijing for several years already. A simple reason for doing this is to show that we remember, and make sure our children learn that," Russia’s Consul General in the Hong Kong Special administrative Region Alexander Kozlov said in his keynote address.
The coordinator of the march Dmitry Osipov told TASS that holding a mass event in the city center has required substantial organization efforts, as well as numerous approvals from authorities, the police and firefighters. "We have organized an outreach team and fund raising," he said, adding that the march is expected to be held annually here.
The Immortal Regiment procession is a public event where people carry photos of their relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War. The first march was held in the Siberian city of Tyumen in 2007, under the name of the Parade of the Victorious. In 2013, the procession was held in 120 cities. In the following year, citizens of 500 cities in seven countries walked along the streets carrying the portraits of veterans.