At the United Nations later this month, 56 teenagers representing every national minority in China will take part in celebrations marking an international day for children's welfare. A further 44 young people from Hong Kong will also be present at the ceremony, which will be attended by the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.
Their participation in the event on November 29 is the latest in a series of low-key occasions organised by the Hong Kong-based Chinese History and Culture Education Foundation for Youth. Since its establishment last year, the foundation has without fanfare or fuss sent thousands of young Hong Kongers to a dozen provinces in China.
This month's mission to New York and Washington DC of 100 young Chinese is its most ambitious international move.
The aims of the foundation sound lofty, as, indeed, they are. But they are also based on a simple premise.
Richard Tang Yat-sun points out that too many young people in Hong Kong know next to nothing about the realities of modern China. The solution is to take them to different parts of the mainland, let them mix with their counterparts - and learn.
'This dissolves many of the misconceptions about China,' insists the businessman who is deputy chairman of the Foundation.
