"I take over the military camp on behalf of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison in Hong Kong. You can lay off and we will take over. I wish you a safe journey." At 0:00:00 on July 1, 1997, this loud and clear voice was heard at the solemn Sino-British handover ceremony. The voice filled the sky, heralding that "Hong Kong, this wanderer who has been wandering for many years has finally returned home!"
The young man who shouted this loud and clear declaration was named Tan Shanai, from Hunan, and he was only 33 years old at the time.
Tan Shanai said that it was a pure coincidence that he had the honor to serve as the Chinese commander. What is going on? 25 years have passed. Where is Tan Shanai now and how is his life?
Ran into the military camp by mistake
In 1981, 17-year-old Tan Shanai failed the college entrance examination. He lost the direction of his struggle and could only go home to "chew on his old age." Tan Shanai's father was the village branch secretary at the time, taking the lead in developing development and promoting the economy every day.
It happened that the son of Gao Ma University had not been admitted to college. Instead of being disappointed, Tan's father was a little happy to have a helper. He gave his son full responsibility for the newly contracted fish pond in the village.
html A 217-year-old boy who has just left school has embarked on the path of a heavy life. Perhaps God always likes to add many obstacles to those who achieve great things to exercise their will and endurance.
Regardless of rain or shine in winter or summer, Tan Shanai’s daily work is to observe water quality, feed food, observe whether the fish are healthy, conduct regular disinfection and other repetitive and boring tasks. In this way, he has been working as a "fish" in the village for 2 years. "Boss", guarding several ponds of fry by yourself, do you accept your fate? maybe.
Looking at her son who left early and came home late, Tan’s mother did not want her son to compromise with life. In 1983, she encouraged Tan Shanai to become a soldier. Sometimes her belief was ignited in an instant. Tan Shanai originally planned to give up the unrealistic dreams of his youth. Dream, but his mother's encouragement seemed to pull away the longing buried in his heart.
So he left the fish pond, his parents, his hometown and entered the military camp. He ran, beat, quagmire, and chased over and over again, and he never cried out that he was tired.
's body was covered with bruises from training, but he didn't care. The sweat on his body never dried, and the light in his eyes never went out.
felt like he had entered his paradise in the military camp. He always strived for the first place in everything and never fell behind. His outstanding performance was deeply remembered by his leaders. In 1985, Tan Shanai was recommended by his leaders to take the Guilin Military Academy.
The shadow of his failure in the college entrance examination gave him an instinctive fear of books. In order to overcome his fear, he consulted teachers and classmates over and over again with knowledge points that he could not understand at all. His teammates looked at the clumsy and silly guy. I read during training breaks, in the cafeteria, and in the corridor after lights out, and I silently admired him.
In July 1985, Tan Shanai lived up to expectations and was admitted to Guilin Military Academy.
Campus life is not as easy as imagined. In addition to heavy training and complicated courses, there is almost no private time. No one knows how many times they have to train under the scorching sun for those seemingly bright and uniform movements.
God will not treat any hard-working life badly, but it will never let him go too smoothly.
After struggling in the army and military academy for several years, Tan Shanai graduated with honors. At that time, he was assigned a job after graduation. Everyone thought that Tan Shanai's job would be the most glamorous due to his performance.
Until he received a job notice: the platoon leader of the Guangzhou Military Region's security platoon. His daily job was to stand guard at the outpost. The tall man who performed well in school became a small sentinel, enduring the beatings of wind and rain for 8 years. There are no complaints, no grievances, only the unconditional dedication and love of soldiers.
"At that time, I never thought about treating the sentry as an inconspicuous soldier. I never thought about it that way. I would make my own accusations wherever I stood, and I would be satisfied if I put my own sentry station and my post." Tan Shanai said.
8 years of accumulation once "accidentally" bursts out
htmlIn 28 years, small trees can fly into the sky, seedlings can bear fruit, and a person can also change. It was precisely after eight years of training and forging that Tan Shanai's "breakout" occurred. In 1993, "little sentinel" Tan Shanai was promoted to the military affairs staff of the Hong Kong Garrison.
The change of position did not change his down-to-earth nature. In daily training, weight-bearing training, and extreme training, Tan Shanai strived to achieve the ultimate goal. Originally, as a leader, he could just give orders and not train, but he has never been lazy. Once.
One day in 1997, he went to the chief's office to ask for work instructions. As soon as he entered, the chief began to look at him: "I remember you have a loud voice, right?" Looking at the tall and strong young man in front of him, the chief smiled enigmatically and said nothing. Then let him go.
A few days later, the chief asked him to go to the office again, "You can lay off, we will take up the post, repeat it," the chief said.
Tan Shanai, who was confused, said it in a loud voice, and the leader nodded to express his satisfaction: "Good boy, you are the one." Such an arduous and glorious mission was handed over to him.
After finishing speaking, the chief patted him on the shoulder and said: "July 1st is the day when Hong Kong returns to . You will hand over the commander to the British on behalf of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. At that time, the people of the whole country will be watching. You must not make the slightest mistake, but don't be too nervous, boy, are you confident?"
Tan Shanai was stunned but still replied forcefully: "I promise to complete the task."
In the following days, He began to enter the handover unit for training. In addition to regular training, he was also privately training the phrase "You can lay off, we will take up the post."
"There can be no mistakes in every word, pause, tone, and tone. This is the most glorious moment and I must not make any mistakes. During that time, I was so excited that I didn't sleep much. I would wake up nervously at night. After that, I rehearsed silently in my mind, practicing even in my dreams." Tan Shan'ai said.
and flag-raiser Zhu Tao, who couldn't sleep well every day, were with him. When everyone else was taking a break, Zhu Tao and Tan Shan'ai often trained until late at night.
Zhu Tao said: "There is no room for error in this task. The five-star red flag cannot be raised for one second late. This is not a desire for victory. This is dignity, an honor and disgrace to the country, and a glory."
On July 1, 1997, the honor guard marched Walking into the HTW Wales HT3 military camp with uniform steps, Tan Shanai's high-pitched and loud voice pierced the sky, indicating that Hong Kong's century-old humiliation was finally over at this moment. As the HTML Volunteer March played, the five-star red flag in Zhu Tao's hand rose slowly .
All the Chinese people present had tears in their eyes. It has been too long since this bright red flag has been raised in this hot land. The pride in everyone's heart is self-evident.
Many years later, Tan Shanai still cannot calm down when thinking of that night: "It is indescribable. The shock of the scene made me feel the glory and mission of being a Chinese. I think I will be proud of it in this life."
The glory subsided and the career change was peaceful.
In 2005, Tan Shanai applied for transfer and became an ordinary policeman in the Shenzhen Baoan District Public Security Bureau. After losing his aura, he became the policeman Xiao Tan in the eyes of the elders and aunties in the area. Whenever there was a small problem, they would come to him to solve the problem.
He does everything he can to catch thieves, mediate neighborhood conflicts, maintain community security, and stand guard. He often responds with a calm smile when his aunt often pulls him to chat.
The pressure at work is reduced, and he spends more time at home. He has always felt guilty for spending too little time with his wife and children over the years. During the days when we were together less and separated more, his wife was unconditionally tolerant. Now he also likes to buy groceries and cook. After dinner, he waited for his wife to come home, walked with his children, and lived a peaceful and beautiful life. This kind of life was what he had longed for for a long time.
On July 1, 2022, a full 25 years have passed since the night when Hong Kong returned to China. Although Tan Shanai has not been fighting on the front line every year in these years, he is still paying attention to national affairs at all times, and the development of the country is inseparable. The contribution of every Tan Shanai in society.
