HK, Macao CPPCC members to actively engage youths
Hong Kong and Macao delegates to the country’s top political advisory body vowed on Sunday to actively engage young people in the two special administrative regions to keep them well informed of the nation’s overall development and help them seek opportunities.
They made the pledge during their first open group discussions a day after Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the 12th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, delivered his annual work report to the opening session.
The report said the CPPCC National Committee attaches high importance to work related to youths in the two SARs.
Edmund Ho Hau-wah, vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, said patriotism education is one major focus of youth-related work in Macao this year.
The former Macao SAR chief executive urged Macao CPPCC members to take a multi-pronged approach to improve and intensify patriotism education among young people in the city.
Samuel Yung Wing-ki, a CPPCC National Committee member from Hong Kong, praised youths as the key force not only in the future of the SAR, but also the country.
He noted that one focus of youth-related work is to enhance their social mobility, and Hong Kong CPPCC members should craft ways to allow more young people in the city access to career opportunities provided on the Chinese mainland, especially in the GuangdongHong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Yung, who’s also founding president of the Hong Kong Professionals and Senior Executives Association, suggested that higher educational institutions on the mainland enroll more Hong Kong students to enable them to gain first-hand knowledge and a full picture of the country and its development.
He also proposed that college credits be interchangeable between the mainland and the SAR.
At the same time, Yung called on mainland enterprises to offer internships for Hong Kong students.
CPPCC National Committee members should play a connector role, bridging the country and young people in the (Hong Kong) SAR.”
Jonathan Choi Koon-shum,
To further that cause, CPPCC National Committee Member Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, who also chairs the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, said Hong Kong’s CPPCC delegates, especially those from the business sector, could provide financial assistance to young people who desire exchanges with mainland higher educational institutions or internship at mainland enterprises.
Besides, CPPCC National Committee members should play a connector role, bridging the country and young people in the SAR by promoting national policies and development blueprint in Hong Kong schools and universities, Choi said.
The 13th CPPCC National Committee session will conclude on March 15.
The first session of the 13th National People’s Congress will open today (Monday) in Beijing. It will also be attended by Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her Macao counterpart Fernando Chui Sai-on.