To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Immigration Department Youth Leaders Corps (IDYL) organised a five-day Shanghai summer exchange tour from July 22 to 26, and specially arranged for 75 IDYL members to join the tour in symbolic terms. The exchange tour aimed to give an opportunity for the IDYL members to look back on the history of the founding of the country and understand how young people in the country's post-reform-and-opening-up era had pursued and realised their dreams in Shanghai. The tour also enabled the IDYL members to have an exchange of ideas with local young people, inspire each other and join hands to create a future for the country.

     Addressing the opening ceremony on the first day of the exchange tour held at the Shanghai University, the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok, remarked that Shanghai was the birthplace of the Communist Party of China, and the place where the then young party members set sail to follow their dreams. The city later further developed into China's most important economic centre as well as one of the largest cities in Asia, where many young people nurtured and developed their dreams. He hoped that through the activities of the exchange tour, the IDYL members would come to understand the history and development of Shanghai municipality; ponder how to realise their own dreams; have an exchange of ideas with local young people, inspire each other and join hands to create a future for the country.

     Led by the Commissioner of the IDYL, Dr Cheng Kam-chung and members of the IDYL advisory committee, the IDYL members visited the Shanghai University, the headquarters of the social media platform Xiaohongshu, the intelligence technology company SenseTime, the state enterprise Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., and the Immigration Division of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The exchange tour also paid a visit to the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in particular on July 23, which was the opening day of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, to enable the IDYL members to learn about the history of the founding of the party and the country on site.

     In addition, the IDYL members also visited the National Anthem Gallery, the Shanghai Special Police Department, the e-sports enterprise SUPERGEN and the e-commerce company Meituan, to gain an understanding of the development of and opportunities in these industries. There was a chance for the IDYL members to interact with the local teenagers. Meanwhile, the Immigration Department Youth Ambassadors in Shanghai and volunteers from Shanghai University accompanying the IDYL members, introduced the life in Shanghai. The itinerary of the exchange tour also included workshops on experiencing Shanghai culture and learning Shanghainese, visits to the Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, which is known as the "Pearl of the south of the Yangtze River", and the Shanghai Disneyland. All these enabled the IDYL members to appreciate Shanghai's history and culture, and get some knowledge about the city's latest developments from multiple perspectives.

     The IDYL will, in the future, continue to organise exchange programmes of various themes, to deepen the IDYL members' understanding of the country's history, and strengthen their exchanges with the mainland, with a view to enhancing their sense of national awareness, and nurturing their love for the homeland.

Ends/Saturday, July 27, 2024
Issued at HKT 21:17

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