The Chinese military has rotated thousands of new troops into Hong Kong just days ahead of a major pro-democracy march set for Saturday. China has described the troop rotation as routine, but Chinese state media reported the new soldiers had undergone military and legal training specific to Hong Kong. Chinese authorities have denounced the protests in Hong Kong and have repeatedly threatened to use force to quell the protests. Since the 1997 handover from Britain, China has stationed as many as 10,000 troops in Hong Kong.