To raise environmental awareness, nearly 2,000 participants joined in a tree planting activity in Yuen Long on Saturday, planting over 5,000 native tree saplings for a greener Hong Kong.
Supported by the Bank of China (Hong Kong), the "Hong Kong Tree Planting Day 2025" was organized by Concerted Efforts Resource Centre and Green Fun and was attended by distinguished guests.
They included Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Yin Zonghua; Deputy Commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison Navy Rear Admiral Tan Zhiwei; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR Xie Zhixiang, and BOCHK Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Risk Officer Xu Haifeng.
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“The HKSAR government has been actively aligning with national strategies to maintain long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong. In facing the challenges of climate change, Hong Kong, as an international metropolitan city, is committed to gather the force to drive the green and environmental measures,” Lee said.
“Hong Kong is one of the pioneers in Asia to take action against climate change, actively advancing various carbon reduction strategies to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and contribute to the country's dual carbon goals,” he added.
This year, the event again received strong support from the PLA Hong Kong Garrison, which sent 200 soldiers to participate in tree planting efforts.
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The planted seedlings included those from the specieis Machilus breviflora, Eurya chinensis, Maesa perlarius, Sterculia lanceolata, Rhaphiolepis indica, Syzygium hancei, Bischofia javanica and Gardenia jasminoides.
The event promoted the message of caring for nature and protecting trees, while also raising awareness to prevent wildfires and protect Hong Kong's rural ecology, organizers said.
“We hope to take this opportunity to strengthen public awareness of the importance of environmental protection, in a way to plant the seeds of green in people's hearts, and cultivate a consciousness of respecting the nature, building a community of shared future," said BOCHK’s Xu.
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Secretary of Housing Winnie Ho Wing-Yin, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen, President of Concerted Efforts Resource Centre Stephen Tai Tak-fung, and Chairman of Green Fun Kenneth Chu Ting-kin and representatives of various organizations also joined in planting the saplings.
“Climate change is a challenge faced globally. Environmental protection and carbon reduction are crucial to alleviating it,” Tai said.
