TOKYO -- When the gates abruptly opened at the People's Liberation Army barracks in Hong Kong on Nov. 16, and about 100 shaven-headed and powerfully built men sprang out to clean the streets, a senior soldier made sure to tell the media there that it was a spontaneous act.
"We volunteered!" the plain-clothed unit spokesman, believed to be the commander, said. "Stopping violence and ending chaos is our responsibility." He was wearing a blue shirt.
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