Joining the Force is by no means an easy task. One needs to make much endeavour in order to meet the entry requirements and complete a series of professional training before becoming a police officer. For Chan Yuet-chun (Chun), who is over 40 years old now, the access to joining the Force is even tougher.

Chun, who is currently stationed at the Patrol Sub-unit of Wong Tai Sin District, has just graduated from Police College. 43-year-old Chun has a son and a daughter. Before joining the Force, he had been engaged in glass installation work for over two decades and promoted to supervisory level. In 2019, black violence raged, with thugs wrecking all the places in the territory. His stable life was thus ruined. At the beginning of 2020, he was laid off due to his employer’s operation difficulties. In the face of setbacks, Chun did not give up. Instead, he was determined to join the Force to uphold the rule of law. “At that time, seeing young people being misguided and thrown into black violence ignited the fire in my heart. I wanted to devote myself to stopping the violence and protecting the young.”

For middle-aged Chun, the road to joining the Force was rugged. He had to face many young competitors regarding academic qualifications and physical fitness. His wife was also worried that their children might be bullied, and therefore opposed to his application to join the Force. The couple disputed over the matter repeatedly. To achieve his goal, Chun surmounted the obstacles one by one. He first found a part-time job for livelihood and then studied after work. He practised running in his spare time in order to meet the physical fitness of the entry requirement.

Chun’s wife was finally moved by his perseverance and supported him in pursuing his dream of being a policeman. Chun was admitted in 2022 and received the challenging 27-week Recruit Police Constable Foundation Training. It was not easy for him to take up academic study again in his middle age. He admitted, “My grades in the examinations were unsatisfactory. I was very worried that I could not graduate.” Chun was very grateful to his course instructor then, who not only encouraged him and shared study tips with him, but also arranged for classmates with better academic performance to tutor him in the evening. In the end, he successfully achieved good results and joined the Force as he wished.

Chun’s aspiration to join the Force was to stop violence and chaos. Although the current social environment is relatively stable, he remains alert. He will stay steadfastly in the forefront to safeguard Hong Kong and prevent recurrence of similar incidents. He also hopes to become a role model for his children, who will learn to brave all difficulties and head towards their goals.