A moment of silence for fallen firefighters amid noisy July 1 celebrations

A sea of red Hong Kong and national flags fluttered in the air as a drone whirred over a packed street in Central, recording one of the largest parties on the 19th anniversary of the city’s return to China.

The crowd of 3,000 — mostly silver-haired — flag holders at Chater Road grinned and waved at the hovering camera as families queued at the colourful game booths at the carnival.

But before the national anthem boomed across the pedestrian zone, organisers calmed the crowd’s festive mood for a moment of silence in remembrance of the two firemen claimed by last month’s Ngau Tau Kok fire.

Organisers said they did not cancel the carnival despite calls to scale down celebrations because they wanted to inject some positive energy for Hongkongers.

One of its attendees, Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, said purely fun-filled events have already been cancelled in light of the Ngau Tau Kok fire, and the remaining events had introduced mourning sessions for the public to pay tribute.

“When we celebrate the success of ‘one country, two systems’ and the continuity of prosperity and stability of our society, I think this is also a very proper way to pay our respects to those who have sacrificed,” he said.