Nation’s backing revives HK’s sci-tech industry

Researchers hail favorable policies and closer cross-border cooperation

The nation’s extensive and unswerving support in sci-tech development has made Hong Kong a rising star in the highly competitive field, and will propel it to evolve into a world-class hub, leading scientists based in Hong Kong said.

Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland on July 1, 1997, the central government has spared no effort in developing the special administrative region’s science and technology.

In May 2018, President Xi Jinping responded to a letter written by 24 Hong Kong academicians, prompting central government departments to roll out a string of initiatives to accelerate the city’s sci-tech advancement, including allowing Hong Kong scholars to apply directly for funds for national scientific projects.

The research team of William Lu Weijia, professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the University of Hong Kong, is among the first group of scientists to have received national funds since the setting up of the cross-border application policy. Their project on the functional reconstruction of human tissues and organs received 27.44 million yuan ($ 4.1 million) from the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2018.

With the funding, Lu’s team has developed a 3D printing machine capable of recreating blood vessels, skin, corneas, and other organs for human beings.

Lu hailed the central government’s support for Hong Kong’s sci-tech development as timely and efficient, as it established more open, extensive, and deep cooperation between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

Lu Yang, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong, was among the first Hong Kong scientists to benefit from the

Excellent Young Scientists Fund under the National Natural Science Foundation of China, which opened to Hong Kong and Macao applicants in 2019. He received 1.3 million yuan in funding for his project — two to three times the amount a regular researcher could hope to receive in Hong Kong. His research was published in the top magazine Science in early 2021.

Lu Yang said the nation’s backing has offered plenty of fresh opportunities for Hong Kong scientists like himself, and he was honored that the country could recognize the project from Hong Kong.

Electrical engineering expert Chan Ching-chuen, who initiated the letter to President Xi, said that the central government’s support has helped Hong Kong resolve many deep-rooted problems, for example, completing the city’s ecological chain.

With favorable policies offered by cooperation platforms like the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, Hong Kong researchers can take advantage of the mainland’s industrial foundation and integrated supply chain to accelerate the commercialization of technologies, Chan said.

Neurobiologist Nancy Ip Yukyu, who co-signed the letter to Xi, said that Hong Kong’s strong research capability and experience in the biotech sector can play a significant role in the nation’s quest to become a global tech powerhouse. Ip is also the incoming president of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.