The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) today (August 8) held an online seminar on the "Spirit of the President's Important Speech" at the Central Government Offices, where about 120 colleagues at the middle and senior levels of policy branches and departments under the HYAB participated. The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, attended as the principal speaker at the seminar.

     Miss Mak shared with colleagues the core essence of the important speech delivered by President Xi Jinping at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to let them have a deeper understanding and reflection. The Permanent Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Ms Shirley Lam; the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung; the Director of Home Affairs, Mrs Alice Cheung; and Deputy Director of Information Services Ms Grace Ng, and other participants also spoke and shared their thoughts at the seminar.

     President Xi raised in his important speech "four musts" for the new administration: it must fully and faithfully implement the principle of "one country, two systems"; it must uphold the Central Government's overall jurisdiction while securing the HKSAR's high degree of autonomy; it must ensure that Hong Kong is administered by patriots; and it must maintain Hong Kong's distinctive status and advantages. President Xi also laid down "four proposals" for the newly inaugurated Government, i.e. further improving its governance, continuing to create strong impetus for growth, earnestly addressing people's concerns and difficulties in daily life, and working together to safeguard harmony and stability.

     Addressing the seminar, Miss Mak said that President Xi's important speech had expounded in depth the crucial guidance on the future development of Hong Kong, and that the "four proposals" mentioned in the speech are specifically the direction of work for the HYAB. She quoted the important speech by President Xi that the Government should care about the young people and help them overcome the genuine difficulties in education, employment, entrepreneurship and home ownership.

     Miss Mak said, "Youth development is a major priority of the HYAB. We have commenced preparatory work for the formulation of the 'youth development blueprint' which will outline the vision and major directions of Hong Kong's overall youth development work. We will collaborate with different policy bureaux and their respective departments to implement policy measures directly relevant to the youth development."

     President Xi also mentioned in his important speech that the community should work together to safeguard harmony and stability, and to create a better life in solidarity. Miss Mak pointed out that the HYAB will enhance work in districts and encourage residents to participate in community services, so as to establish mutual help networks. She encouraged colleagues to integrate the spirit of the President's important speech into their own work, implementing policies that would benefit the citizens.

     Since July till now, over 45 sessions have been held by the 18 District Offices. A number of speakers have been invited to address the sessions so as to enable more key district figures to obtain a deeper understanding of the spirit of President Xi's important speech. A total of about 6 700 participants have attended the sessions.

Ends/Monday, August 8, 2022
Issued at HKT 12:43

NNNN