Hong Kong dispatches 32 officials to mainland China for study trip covering national security, modernisation

Chief Executive’s Office director Carol Yip says delegation consisting of deputy ministers and political assistants is largest she has seen in decades

‘It’s more important to consider carefully how we can grasp national developments in our work after our return, to bring about historic opportunities for Hong Kong’, she adds

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Hong Kong has dispatched 32 officials, including deputy ministers and political assistants, on a week-long study trip to mainland China. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:23pm, 19 Nov 2023Updated: 8:43am, 20 Nov 2023

Hong Kong has dispatched its largest delegation of deputy ministers and political assistants in decades to mainland China for a week-long trip to learn more about developments concerning the country’s security, modernisation, as well as local and national laws.

Chief Executive’s Office director Carol Yip Man-kuen, who is helming the 32-strong delegation of political appointees that left on Sunday, said the group’s itinerary would start with classes at Beijing’s National Academy of Governance, before they headed over to Nanjing next Thursday.

“The exchange, study tour and learning [on this trip] is only the first step,” she said.

“It’s more important to consider carefully how we can grasp national developments in our work after our return, to bring about historic opportunities for Hong Kong and create more space for the development of the city.”

(Left to right) Commerce undersecretary Bernard Chan, Chief Executive’s Office director Carol Yip, as well as Denise Hung, political assistant to Hong Kong’s justice minister, speak to the press before setting off for mainland China. Photo: Handout

The delegation represents the first study trip to Beijing by local political appointees since Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s administration took office last year. Civil servants earlier visited the country’s capital and Hangzhou in June.