High-ranking Hong Kong delegation to meet number three in mainland China

The civil service minister and a delegation of permanent secretaries and heads will meet the country’s third highest-ranking official during a visit to the State Council-run training academy, according to reports.

The group took off for Beijing from Hong Kong on Sunday to attend a “national studies course and visit” at the Chinese Academy of Governance.

According to RTHK, National People’s Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang, the Communist Party’s third highest-ranking official, will receive them.

Speaking to reporters before the visit on Sunday, Secretary for the Civil Service Clement Cheung Wan-ching said the course at the Chinese Academy of Governance would involve “understanding the nation’s newest developments”.

They will then visit the 4th Army Aviation Brigade before moving on to Chongqing for briefings and visits to development projects. “We will also discuss what areas of cooperation we can strengthen,” Cheung said.

The minister said this was not the first such exchange. The first was held in September 2010 when a similar delegation visited Beijing and then Shanghai for the World Expo. They visited the capital again in 2013, followed by a visit to Gansu province.

Other officials taking part in the trip include permanent secretary for development Michael Wong Wai-lun, customs commissioner Roy Tang Yun-kwong, director-general of communications Eliza Lee Man-ching, permanent secretary for education Marion Lai Chan Chi-kuen, permanent secretary for food and health Patrick Nip Tak-kuen and permanent secretary of the Chief Executive’s Office Alice Lau Yim. The trip ends on Saturday.

The Chinese Academy of Governance, an affiliate of the State Council, is a training centre for senior civil servants, executives at state-owned enterprises and officials in social institutions.

It also works as a think tank for the central government on policy related to the management of the civil service and the training of officials.