In Hong Kong there has also been something else to consider, for any activity that is undertaken there - no matter how mundane - is invariably set against a background of great and potentially apocalyptic events outside the control of local people. It must be remembered that only in the 1980s was anything certain decided about Hong Kong's future, and this decision itself contained much uncertainty. But until the Sino-British agreement of 30th June 1985 the year 1997 was both distant and theoretical; the average Hong Konger lived, worked and played on the basis that the colony might live forever - or end on the morrow. This attitude, which of course has its dark side, produced a mixture of fatalism and `edge' that has made Hong Kong one of the world's success stories.
Against this background the Hong Kong Marine Police have played a larger role in the affairs of the territory than is normally given to such units. Part of the reason for this is physical. The territory of Hong Kong consists essentially of a peninsula on the eastern side of the Pearl River delta together with some 300 attendant islands. The whole area hums with maritime life, and has done so for centuries irrespective of national boundaries. Thus, with over 140 kilometres of sea border to patrol together with some 85 kilometres of Chinese coastline edging the bays which bite deeply into the flanks of the territory, the marine policeman is in a constant `frontier' situation; every case he encounters may - and often will - have a `China angle'.
Added to this is the fact that Hong Kong, as a colony, had no navy or coastguard of its own; such naval forces as have been available over the years being stationed there in accordance with British strategic requirements rather than those of the territory. Thus, while the naval presence in Hong Kong waters was very large after the Second World War and during the Korean War, by the early 1960s it had fallen to a handful of minesweepers and the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (HKRNVR). This was probably quite sufficient to demonstrate the principle of national sovereignty and could of course be reinforced in times of tension. However it was not sufficient to cover what may be termed the `middle ground' of maritime security operations which lies between the strategic role of major warships on the one hand and the normal, somewhat limited role of water police in a busy port on the other. Such duties are normally considered the province of a coastguard organisation or of "light naval forces", and the intermittent and uncontrollable (by the Hong Kong Government) presence of such forces in Hong Kong waters has cast the Marine Police in a wider role than many senior police officers have either appreciated or been comfortable with. This `China Factor' will be looked at in greater detail in the next chapter.