HKSAR Government resumes national studies programme on Mainland (with photos)

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government is gradually resuming the national studies programme on the Mainland. The first batch of 23 directorate civil servants will soon depart for Beijing to attend a seven-day national studies programme. The participants will first undertake studies at the National Academy of Governance to gain an in-depth understanding of the country's policies of governance and major strategies, and will then proceed to Shanghai to learn about the country's modern history and culture as well as its latest local developments.

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, made a special visit to the Civil Service College (CSC) to meet with the programme participants today (May 30) prior to their departure to Beijing, expressing the Civil Service Bureau's expectations for them and learning about their preparatory work. The Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Clement Leung, and the Head of the CSC­­­, Mr Oscar Kwok, also shared their experiences with the participants at the meeting.

     Mrs Yeung said, "All physical training and exchange activities for civil servants on the Mainland had been suspended in the past three years due to the epidemic. Since the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, this marks the first training course dedicated for directorate officers after resumption of the national studies programme, which bears remarkable significance."

     The Director-General of Communications of the Office of the Communications Authority, Mr Chaucer Leung, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Management), Mr Joe Chow, are the leader and the deputy leader of the programme participants respectively, all the remaining participants are senior civil servants at the rank of Directorate Pay Scale Point 3 or above, covering management from the Chief Executive's Policy Unit, the Education Bureau, the Health Bureau, the Architectural Services Department, the Census and Statistics Department, the Civil Engineering and Development Department, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Fire Services Department, the Department of Health, the Housing Department, the Immigration Department, the Information Services Department, the Department of Justice, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Planning Department, the Trade and Industry Department, the Social Welfare Department, the Treasury and the Lands Department, as well as the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

     Mrs Yeung added, "Colleagues participating in the programme possess extensive experience in public administration. They are at the highest leadership level of the respective policy bureaux and departments responsible for management and decision-making. I hope that the programme could enhance their understanding about the systems and developments, as well as the social and economic situation in the Mainland, and to help them keep abreast of the national strategies and their implications for Hong Kong. We will make on-going efforts to organise programmes in Hong Kong and in the Mainland for civil servants from different ranks to let colleagues have an in-depth understanding about national affairs to cater for the HKSAR Government's active integration into the national development."

     The CSC currently collaborates with nine Mainland institutions in organising national studies programmes for middle and senior-level civil servants, namely the National Academy of Governance, Tsinghua University, Peking University, China Foreign Affairs University, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, Jinan University and Sun Yat-sen University. The programmes include lectures and site visits with topics covering the Constitution and the Basic Law, safeguarding national security and the country's latest policies and developments.