Immigration Department Youth Leaders Corps Summer Exchange Tour to Greater Bay Area (with photos)
​From July 24 to 26, the Immigration Department Youth Leaders Corps (IDYL) organised a summer exchange tour to the Greater Bay Area. Led by the Director of Immigration, Mr Au Ka-wang, the Deputy Director of Immigration (Enforcement, Systems and Management), Mr Tai Chi-yuen, the Commissioner of the IDYL, Dr Cheng Kam-chung and three Deputy Commissioners of the IDYL, 34 IDYL members visited Guangzhou, Dongguan and Zhuhai to learn about the historical, cultural and economic relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. The tour also provided opportunities for the members to experience the achievement and the high-speed development of the country.
The tour set off at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and proceeded to the Historical Gallery of Guangzhou General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection in order to learn about the work and history of the Mainland immigration inspection. The members then visited the Immigration Division of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to learn about the daily work of the division in assisting Hong Kong residents there. The members then visited the Guangdong Television Center, during which the members entered the control room to witness the operation of a provincial-level television station and learned about the live broadcast process of TV programmes in the studio.
To allow IDYL members to study major historical incidents and trace the historical footprints, they were divided into two groups in the following day to visit two historically significant locations. One group of the members visited the Dongjiang-Shenzhen Water Supply Project Memorial Park in Dongguan to understand the history of the Dongjiang water supply to Hong Kong and the challenges encountered in the construction of this massive water diversion project. The members understood that Hong Kong's stable water supply had always relied on the efforts of our Mainland compatriots and they should remember to be grateful. The other group of members visited the Sea Battle Museum to learn about the history of the Destruction of Opium at Humen and Opium War. The IDYL hoped that through visits to relics of fortresses and exhibition halls, the members would remember the lessons of history, not to forget national calamities, and cultivate a sense of belonging and responsibility to the country.
In the afternoon, the two groups of members visited the Huawei's terminal headquarters in Songshan Lake of Dongguan and the exhibition hall of Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. of Zhuhai. Through visits to national leading technology companies, the members could understand the latest technology developments in the Mainland and to attract their interest in innovative technology. These successful enterprises provide good examples for the members to emulate and also had inspired the members to think about their own career planning.
On the last day of the tour, the group visited the Zhuhai Space Center which showed a life-size replica of China's orbiting "Tiangong" space station, and experienced the process of Moon landing and Mars exploration through interactive modes. The group then visited the Zhuhai Planning Exhibition Hall to learn about the history of development and future planning of Zhuhai and its role in the Greater Bay Area.
The final stop of the tour was the Exhibition Hall on the Eastern Artificial Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, where the members learned how the country overcame the challenges encountered during the construction of the bridge using innovative technology and the importance of the bridge in connecting various regions and integrating them into the development of the Greater Bay Area.
After the visit, Mr Au Ka-wang, encouraged the members that they should not only deepen their understanding of the country's history, culture and technology through this tour, but also continue to closely follow the national situation, pay attention to the latest developments of the country, be youth leaders with an affection for the country and Hong Kong and contribute to the society proactively. He added that the IDYL would organise more exchange activities to different regions in the Mainland with a view to providing more opportunities for the members to broaden their horizons and deepen their understanding of the country.
