Civil Service College holds thematic briefing session on &quot;International Landscape and China&apos;s Foreign Relations in 2023&quot;
31.5.2023

The Civil Service College today (May 31) held a thematic briefing session on "International Landscape and China's Foreign Relations in 2023" jointly with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (OCMFA) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The briefing was delivered by the OCMFA's Commissioner, Mr Liu Guangyuan. It was attended by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and around 450 senior officials, including Secretaries of Departments, Directors of Bureaux and other politically appointed officials, as well as Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments, and other senior directorate officers of the HKSAR Government. This session also heralds the series of talks on the country's foreign affairs to be run this year. Mr Lee delivered the opening remarks at the session. He expressed gratitude to Mr Liu's attendance at the session and his sharing on the international landscape and national foreign strategies, which enabled the HKSAR Government to have a better grasp and understanding of the country's foreign affairs, and to further complement the national policies and contribute to the country. Mr Lee pointed out that in the face of the complex international political and economic environment, interference by certain external forces in the affairs of the country and Hong Kong, as well as various unjustified smears and suppressions, the HKSAR has an even more essential role in safeguarding national security, sovereignty and development interests, and steadfastly defending the successful implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle in Hong Kong. While safeguarding national security, Hong Kong, being a special administrative region of the country, has to leverage its distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under "one country, two systems", fully grasp the evolving international landscapes and act in concert with the country's foreign affairs policy to tell the good stories of China and Hong Kong. The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said during the session that the civil service is an integral part of the HKSAR governance system and civil servants should have an accurate understanding of the current national development strategies, fully and faithfully implement the "one country, two systems" principle, and support the HKSAR Government's full implementation of "patriots administering Hong Kong". Civil servants, in their respective positions, should formulate more policies that are people oriented and in support of national development, strengthen Hong Kong's connection with the rest of the world, and enable Hong Kong to play its due and greater role in the overall development of the country. Civil service training is an important part of the HKSAR Government's efforts on all fronts to strengthen national education, to promote a comprehensive understanding of the history, development and culture of the country and to enhance national awareness and nurture patriotism. Since the end of 2021, with the support and assistance from the OCMFA, the Civil Service College has organised 12 talks on different topics under the series on the country's foreign affairs. The talks were delivered by relevant officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they were well received by colleagues. The College will continue to run a series of talks on the country's foreign affairs in 2023, which begins with today's thematic briefing session, followed by quarterly talks on topics such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the latest development of China-United States relations, etc. Ends/Wednesday, May 31, 2023 Issued at HKT 19:32 NNNN