The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) visited Paris, France, last year. After visiting Sciences Po, it reached a cooperation agreement and actively prepared to offer students from the school work experience opportunities in Hong Kong during this summer. This year, after multiple rounds of interviews and screening with supporting organisations, the DAB successfully invited eight Sciences Po students to Hong Kong for internships at the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) and the Hong Kong Jockey Club, enabling them to understand the real social landscape of Hong Kong, deepen their understanding of Chinese culture, and help tell China's story well.
DAB Vice-Chairman Holden Chow Ho-ding said he was very excited to help bring about the cooperation. After a full year of effort, the internship programme was finally launched successfully. The programme aims to broaden foreign students' horizons and give them opportunities to learn about Hong Kong and the mainland. The DAB will continue to take "Connecting with the World" as one of its work goals and will continue to run the internship programme. Please stay tuned.
What insights and gains did the interns get? Let's hear what the students have to say.
Georges Collemiche, an intern at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said he had the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of various departments of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which gave them a comprehensive understanding of the Club's operations and its unique integrated business model. In addition, they visited the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong S.A.R and exchanged views with Chinese diplomats. They learned about Hong Kong's role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and how to explore ways to encourage cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong in various fields.
Madhava Frances, an intern at the Airport Authority Hong Kong, said he was exposed to all aspects of airport work, especially the media team, the public affairs team and the marketing team, and attended different meetings. He said his work experience at the airport was very enjoyable.
Student Ramy Bensafi noted that it was a great honour to meet the French CEO of Hong Kong Tramways. It was a rewarding experience, as they learned that French people can also work in Hong Kong and help Hong Kong residents with their daily commutes.
Regarding the Greater Bay Area study tour, student Claudia Nihoul pointed out that they visited a number of highly innovative and advanced Chinese companies, such as BGI and BYD. These companies are very advanced and developing rapidly. Mei Mabuchi also said that by exploring the development links between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, she learned how the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area truly contributes to the economy and culture of mainland China.
At an earlier launch ceremony, President of the Legislative Council Starry Lee Wai-king welcomed the French interns to Hong Kong to join the DAB's internship programme, so that they could learn about Hong Kong and the mainland. She also welcomed the students to visit the Legislative Council to learn about its operation, and said she believed that during their two-month internship in Hong Kong, they would experience first-hand various features of Hong Kong, including food and traditional Chinese culture.
In his speech, Under Secretary for Education Jeff Sze Chun-fai noted that the programme fully demonstrated how community efforts and government policies complement each other in jointly telling the stories of China well. He continued that the HKSAR Government is committed to developing Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education and promoting global academic exchanges through the "Study in Hong Kong" brand. He encouraged the students to fully engage, integrate into the community, and experience first-hand the distinctive blend of Chinese and Western cultures under "One Country, Two Systems".
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