Night view of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, July 20, 2017. [Photo/VCG] BEIJING - China has made substantial progress in integrating the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into a vibrant world-class city cluster, officials said Thursday. Guangdong Province has set up a leading group and six specialized groups to push ahead with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, Lin Shaochun, executive vice governor of Guangdong Province, said at a press conference hosted by the State Council Information Office. Li Xi, secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, is the head of the leading group of Guangdong Province. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has reached an agreement with Guangdong Province to build a campus in Guangzhou, capital of the province, according to Lin. Altogether, six Hong Kong colleges and universities have founded 72 scientific research institutions in Shenzhen, while Guangdong and Hong Kong has jointly subsidized 151 innovative programs. The infrastructure connectivity in the area has been significantly improved, said Lin, mentioning the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge as a model project of the Greater Bay Area. Guangdong Province has opened up 153 service sectors to Hong Kong and Macao, accounting for 95.6 percent of 160 service sectors listed by the World Trade Organization. For the first time, a Guangdong and Macao Cooperation Development Fund has been established, with the first batch of investment of 20 billion yuan (about $3 billion), Lin said. Guangdong has unveiled many facilitation measures for Hong Kong and Macao residents studying, investing and living in the province. For example, the number of colleges and universities that can enroll students from Hong Kong and Macao has risen to 50. China unveiled the outline development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area last week, aiming to develop the region into a role model of high-quality development. The bay area consists of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, as well as nine cities in Guangdong Province -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing. Covering 56,000 square kilometers, the bay area had a combined population of about 70 million at the end of 2017 and its gross domestic product reached around 10 trillion yuan in 2017. wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attends a news conference on political advisors' performance of duties in the new era for the second session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2019. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn] Increased efforts will be made to further engage young people in Hong Kong to join the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, a political adviser said Sunday. It is hoped the development will allow the region's young explore a growing number of opportunities. Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, a Hong Kong member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that young people in Hong Kong have warmed to the central government's Greater Bay Area development plan, but many only have vague ideas of what the Greater Bay Area means to them. It is important to help these young people see for themselves the great potential and key roles they can play in realizing the vision central government has set out for the Greater Bay Area, so they fulfill their personal development aspirations, said Fok. Fok referred to a series of concrete policy measures, rolled out under the central government's support, making it more convenient for people in Hong Kong and Macao to work, live and study in the Greater Bay Area. While young people benefit from, these policies, more needs to be done to communicate how, Fok said. He said that the Greater Bay Area is a region where 11 member cities will be closely integrated and form a one-hour living circle, and that the region will be a home for Hong Kong's young to pursue futures. For the young people to see that, it takes time and continuous engagement to change their perception, Fok said. Speaking at a CPPCC National Committee news conference in Beijing with four other fellow members, Fok reviewed youth engagement work he has carried out as a political adviser since 2018. He suggested new approaches be adopted to organize programs reflecting what the young care about and are interested in, and addresses their concerns and uncertainties about the Greater Bay Area. Most youth-exchange programs in Hong Kong in the past focused more on sending young people to the Chinese mainland's first-tier cities, like Guangzhou and Shenzhen of Guangdong province, said Fok. In the future we should bring our young people to visit less-developed cities like Huizhou and Zhaoqing. Then the young people could get a full picture of the Greater Bay Area, as well as a better understanding of how the 11 cities can develop together to become a world-class bay area, he said.
