The central authorities recently announced plans to recruit payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macao for its national space program. This comes as a great boon to Hong Kong’s young postdoctoral scientific researchers who aspire to participate in space missions, as they are now given the opportunities to realize their dreams.
The candidacy for astronauts has always been exclusively reserved for military personnel. For instance, the three Chinese astronauts who went on a space mission for six months in June this year were all soldiers.
Now the doors are open to young scientific researchers outside the military, and the scope of selection is expanded to include candidates from Hong Kong and Macao. It implies that “two systems” does not preclude the central government, which genuinely cares about the development of the two special administrative regions, from including the two cities into national programs. The announcement reminds us of President Xi Jinping’s keynote address at the assembly marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland. President Xi emphasized that “the central government has always handled Hong Kong affairs from a strategic and national perspective, taking into consideration the fundamental and long-term interests of Hong Kong and the country as a whole. The fundamental interests of Hong Kong are in line with those of the country, and the central government and Hong Kong compatriots share the same aspirations”. Indeed, Beijing has persistently taken Hong Kong’s development into its heart since the reunification in 1997, providing the necessary manpower, funds and other resources whenever the city was confronted by a crisis. Not only did it help Hong Kong ride out the storms but also laid down supporting policies for the post-crisis recovery. The Individual Visit Scheme and the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, introduced after the SARS outbreak in 2003, are good examples of economic stimuli designed to revitalize Hong Kong’s economy.
Engaging Hong Kong youths to take part in the country’s aerospace development not only indicates the relevance of the city’s innovation and technology prowess to national development, but also manifests the country’s genuine concern for the city’s youth development
Since Hong Kong’s revamped electoral system was put in place, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, has reiterated his hope for the HKSAR government to expeditiously iron out hurdles impeding the city’s economic development, raise people’s standard of living, and win their hearts and trust with concrete actions. All these are manifestations of the country’s affection for Hong Kong’s well-being, particularly its long-term development. The announcement of recruiting astronauts from Hong Kong is a welcoming message that encourages the city to proactively participate in national development, especially in the high-tech industries. Hong Kong cannot afford to miss the proverbial boat.
As far as technological innovation is concerned, Hong Kong has a well-established foundation, with the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University among the best in the world in the area of scientific research. But the city still lags behind Shenzhen and other mainland cities in terms of overall innovation and technology development.
Having discerned the issues that have hindered Hong Kong’s overall innovation and technology development, the central government is lending the city a helping hand. For instance, President Xi has made national funding available to Hong Kong’s scientific endeavors; measures have been rolled out to facilitate Hong Kong youth to start their own pilot businesses in Qianhai; the national 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) indicates unequivocal support for Hong Kong to develop eight new international centers or hubs, one of which is an international innovation and technology hub. This undertaking is much easier than aerospace development, which is a high-end and specialized industry exclusive to only a few countries. China’s prominence in aerospace development is the natural outcome of its “whole-nation” system, the advantages of which are hard, if not impossible, to replicate. Given the exclusivity of aerospace development, if Hong Kong aspires to participate in aerospace development, leveraging the national platform is the only way to do that. Engaging Hong Kong youths to take part in the country’s aerospace development not only indicates the relevance of the city’s innovation and technology prowess to national development, but also manifests the country’s genuine concern for the city’s youth development.
The notion of integrating into the overall development of the country has become a matter of concern for some in Hong Kong, who are predisposed to harbor the misconception that economic integration with the mainland will undermine the capitalist system in Hong Kong and lead to its eventual replacement by the socialist system and the loss of Hong Kong’s distinctiveness. This, of course, is gibberish. If we look at the changes on the mainland over the past 40 years, it has transformed from a closed country to being open to the world and has joined a number of international entities like the World Trade Organization, yet the foundation of its socialist system remains as solid as ever.
Likewise, the interwoven economic partnership between China and the United States, which registered a trade volume of more than $700 billion last year, has not altered a shred of the US’ political institutions. Therefore, denying economic cooperation on the basis of institutional differences is fallacious.
President Xi has repeatedly emphasized the need to ensure the success of both the socialist mainland and the capitalist Hong Kong, and that “the more firmly the ‘one country’ principle is upheld, the greater the strength the ‘two systems’ will be unleashed”. This implies that as long as the “one country” precept is not breached, the “two systems” will go hand in hand with each other.
“Integration” essentially entails that Hong Kong and the mainland will join hands to drive socioeconomic innovation. The process of integration will take three forms: Hong Kong leverages the strengths of the mainland; the mainland leverages the advantages of Hong Kong; and the two sides collaborate in areas that have great development potential. The move to recruit astronauts in Hong Kong is a case in point of the mainland leveraging the strengths of Hong Kong. Through integration, the development momentum of both Hong Kong and the mainland will be synergized.
All in all, the inclusion of Hong Kong’s young experts in the country’s space projects is a godsend for the city, and the idea of grooming a Chinese astronaut from Hong Kong will surely set a historic precedent for facilitating the city’s participation in more space missions in future. The idea of a Hong Kong astronaut traveling in space was previously a remote dream. This dream may become reality soon.
The author is a Hong Kong member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
