​The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, continued her visit in Beijing today (April 27).
      
     She called on the Executive Vice President of the National Academy of Governance (NAG), Mr Xie Chuntao, in the morning. Mrs Yeung introduced to Mr Xie and Vice President of the NAG, Mr Gong Weibin, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s plan to resume its national studies training programmes for civil servants after the epidemic and exchanged views on mutual co-operation. She also had a work meeting with the Director-General of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the NAG, Ms Dong Qing, and the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao International Training Center of the NAG, Mr Xie Yutong.
      
     Mrs Yeung said the Academy was a key partner for civil service training for the HKSAR. Being the highest institution for training civil servants, the NAG had nurtured many talents of governance for the country. Since 1999, the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) had co-organised national studies courses with the NAG and arranged for directorate civil servants and Administrative Officers to undergo training there. Nearly 1 400 senior civil servants had received training in the Academy over the years. Mrs Yeung thanked the NAG for its long-term support for the CSB’s training work and expressed that the CSB would continue to work closely with the Academy.
      
     All physical training and exchange activities for civil servants on the Mainland had been suspended in the past three years due to the epidemic. The CSB plans to gradually resume its national studies programmes held on the Mainland in the second half of this year and is discussing the detailed arrangements with Mainland partner institutions. Arrangements for middle and senior-level civil servants to attend training programmes, thematic visits and staff exchange programmes on the Mainland will be the first to be resumed.
      
     Mrs Yeung also called on the HKSAR Basic Law Committee under the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. She met with the Chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission and the HKSAR Basic Law Committee under the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Mr Shen Chunyao, to exchange views on strengthening civil service training and future development directions. She also briefed Mr Shen on the key initiatives for the training on the Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Security Law in the HKSAR.
      
     Mrs Yeung then met with the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Nong Rong, to exchange views on the next stage of training programme in the country’s foreign affairs for HKSAR civil servants.
      
     Mrs Yeung will continue her last day of visit in Beijing tomorrow (April 28) and call on Peking University.

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, continued his visit in Beijing today (April 27).

     In the morning, Mr Chan visited the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and met with Vice-Minister cum Administrator of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Mr Li Qun. They exchanged views on policy initiatives to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s positioning as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange under the National 14th Five-Year Plan. Mr Chan expressed his gratitude to the Ministry for supporting the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to foster cultural and tourism exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and the Mainland, including the successful opening of the Hong Kong Palace Museum last year and the funding support from the China National Arts Fund for various Hong Kong arts projects. With the resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland and the rest of the world, the HKSAR Government will steadfastly develop Hong Kong into an international tourism hub and a core demonstration zone for multi-destination tourism, and tell the international world good stories of China and Hong Kong.

     Mr Chan then visited the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality. He met with Vice Mayor Mr Liu Yuhui and exchanged views on deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and Beijing. Mr Chan said that Hong Kong and Beijing had maintained close liaison and continuously enhanced the breadth and depth of co-operation on various fronts, including economic and trade, innovation and technology, cultural and creative industries, and education and training of civil servants, through the co-operation mechanism between the two cities over the years. Mr Chan hoped that Hong Kong and Beijing would deepen their exchanges and co-operation in various aspects to enhance the complementarity and mutual benefits of both cities, thereby making greater contributions to the high-quality development of the country.

     In the afternoon, Mr Chan visited the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and met with the Minister, Ms Wang Xiaoping, to exchange views on areas such as attracting talent and strengthening human resources development. Mr Chan briefed her on the needs for and situations of proactively drawing talent to Hong Kong and supplementing the local labour force. Of the HKSAR Government’s measures, the various new initiatives of competing for talent such as the Top Talent Pass Scheme have received an overwhelming response from applicants. This shows that, as the most open and international city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), Hong Kong can serve as the gateway to attract talent from around the world to pursue development in the area.

     Afterwards, Mr Chan called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and met with Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Nong Rong. Mr Chan expressed his gratitude to the Ministry for supporting the HKSAR Government’s governance in accordance with the law, assisting in the steadfast and successful implementation of “one country, two systems”, and safeguarding the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. He also thanked the Ministry for supporting the HKSAR in developing external affairs in accordance with the Basic Law, strengthening exchanges and co-operation with the rest of the world, and providing assistance to Hong Kong citizens in distress overseas. The HKSAR Government will continue close liaison with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and firmly oppose any interference by external forces in Hong Kong’s affairs.

     Mr Chan then called on the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF) and met with Vice President Mr Fu Zhenbang to exchange views on the holistic youth development. Mr Chan said that the HKSAR Government, jointly with stakeholders in various sectors, was steadfastly implementing the Youth Development Blueprint released in December 2022, so as to enable Hong Kong youth to proactively integrate into the national development and seize the immense opportunities arising from the GBA development. He thanked the ACYF for its continuous support to Hong Kong in fostering youth exchanges with the Mainland. He looked forward to the relevant work being stepped up continuously. 

     The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, continued the second day of his visit to Beijing today (April 25).

     In the early morning, Mr Tang, together with the heads of disciplined services departments and the Hong Kong Disciplined Services Cultural Exchange Delegation which is currently on an exchange visit on the Mainland, watched the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square. Mr Tang called on the Secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, Mr Chen Wenqing, later in the morning. Mr Chen pointed out that the Hong Kong disciplined services are politically loyal with sophisticated services and strict discipline, working hard to safeguard national security, the prosperity and stability of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the legitimate rights of the people, and making contributions. In the meeting, Mr Tang expressed his gratitude to the Central Government for its support for the law enforcement work of the HKSAR Government during the period of black-clad violence in 2019, and briefed Mr Chen on the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Security Bureau’s work progress in safeguarding national security. Mr Tang also said the HKSAR Government will continue to adopt a wide range of strategies to cope with national security risks.

     In the afternoon, Mr Tang called on the Minister of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC), Mr Yu Jianhua. Mr Tang said that Hong Kong Customs will continue to strengthen co-operation with the Mainland Customs on various fronts, including intelligence exchange and real-time notification of cases, as well as the conduct of joint and special operations. He said that Hong Kong Customs will also collaborate with the GACC on smart customs to strengthen its application and promotion.
 
     Mr Tang then called on the Ministry of Transport and met with Vice-Minister of Transport Mr Dai Dongchang and the Director General of the Rescue and Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, Mr Wang Lei. Mr Tang witnessed the signing of the five-year Letter of Intent of technical exchange and the Letter of Intent for a Five-Year Plan on Technical Co-operation by the Director of Fire Services, Mr Andy Yeung, and the Controller of the Government Flying Service, Captain West Wu respectively with Mr Wang. The signing of the Letters of Intent is set to strengthen technical co-operation and the exchange of rescue experiences to enhance professional standards of both sides. Noting that the units of the two sides have been staying in close touch with each other over the years, Mr Tang said that following the resumption of normal travel between the Mainland and Hong Kong, activities including technical co-operations, exercises, exchange meetings, visits, training and more can be enhanced to further strengthen rescue capability and the emergency response systems of the two places.

     Next, Mr Tang called on the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, to brief him on the work of the HKSAR on safeguarding public security and national security, and thanked him for affirming and supporting the work of the disciplined services. Mr Xia reminded the participants to have crisis awareness and remain vigilant against potential risks, ensuring the safety of Hong Kong citizens and safeguarding national security.

     Mr Tang will continue his visit in Beijing tomorrow (April 26).