‘No political screening’ for Hong Kong government mentoring programme
Some 30 young people will get the chance to ‘be a government official for a day’ in July
Hong Kong’s young people have been assured they will not be politically screened if they apply to a new government programme that will see about 30 students get a first-hand look at how top government officials carry out their daily duties.
Under the “Be a Government Official for a Day” programme, the chosen few will personally shadow a bureau chief or minister for a day between July 16 and 27. They may also indicate the official they would like to shadow, though there is no guarantee that their requests will be met.
Officials hope to attract Form Four and Form Five students who are “self-motivated”, “interested in public service” and have “analytical and communication skills”. Applicants also need to have their schools’ recommendation and pass interviews, to be held in May or June.
Want to know what it’s like to run Hong Kong? Now the city’s students are going to get the chance
Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said on Monday that the programme aimed to give students a better understanding of top officials’ work and also allow officials to exchange views with young people directly.
In addition to Cheung, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah and the 13 bureau chiefs are taking part.
Applications opened on Monday and run until May 11.
“It is the first year. We plan to accept about 30 students. Depending on the response, we may accept more students next time,” Cheung’s spokesman said on Monday. The latest official figures showed there were more than 116,500 students studying in Form Four and Form Five in the city.