November 28th commemorated the first time in over ten years that Chinese astronauts have toured Hong Kong when John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, gave his warm welcome to the China Manned Space Agency’s Deputy Director Lin Xiqiang and his delegation at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. During this meeting at the beginning of their four-day visit, Lee praised the delegation’s noteworthy achievements over the past three decades.
While the astronauts were visiting the city, Hong Kong residents were proud to share their pride and were eager to further understand China’s latest developments in national aerospace technologies. Lin and the team shared their completed construction of China’s Tiangong space stations, hoping that new participants and volunteers from the city— as well as from Macau — will join the national programmes. Recently, China Manned Space has been attempting to recruit new astronauts for greater national aerospace development, hoping candidates seize this opportunity to contribute to future projects.
“We feel the scope of Hong Kong Macau’s commitment to contribution has expanded. Their elements in the national aerospace development, as well as their participation, are also increasing,” Lin said. “In the future, we hope to see an astronaut from Hong Kong.”
Lin added that among the 20 finalists in the agency’s latest selection, there were a myriad of candidates that were from Hong Kong or Macao. To witness this evidence, Hong Kong Technology Ministry Sun Dong revealed that at minimum two candidates from the city had made it to the final round of the astronaut selection ceremony.
“We look forward to seeing the emergence of the first local astronaut in the future,” Lee responded.
Later after their arrival, the astronauts spoke at the opening ceremony of the Science Museum’s “China Manned Space Exhibition” and met local adolescents of all ages including undergraduates and primary students as part of their event, and shared the developments history and latest efforts by the country’s aerospace industry. Following their display of the innovation and technology sector.
To enlighten others, astronaut Wang Yaping began to walk down her memory lane and explained what it is like to be in space. “My most rewarding experience is working with my former students on board a spacecraft,” Wan said. “I still can’t believe they had witnessed their aerospace journey progress with me, it’s space!” Wan furthermore proposed that she hoped to see Hong Kong and Macao residents among her students soon.“I want to tell candidates that dreams are like stars in the universe. They may seem unreachable, but if you work hard, you can definitely touch them,” Wang further elaborated.
After the welcome banquet, Chief Executive John Lee expressed that “the visit reflects how the country values our city’s youth”. He has proven his respect and passion for the delegation’s time and reported to promote local innovation and technology development, the government will also support institutions to participate in the country’s aerospace industry projects to ensure the city is making greater contributions.
