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2nd Anniversary of the Maritime Silk Road Society and “Operation Zhang Qian 2017” Sharing Session

2017-09-23

The 2^nd Anniversary of the Maritime Silk Road Society (MSRS) and “Operation Zhang Qian 2017” Sharing Session were held today (23 September) at Holiday Inn Golden Mile to celebrate the anniversary of the Society and to invite student interns to share their interesting work experiences with guests attending the ceremony.

Over 150 guests were present at the ceremony, including Advisors, Executive Committee Members, Members of the MSRS; representatives of hosting organizations and participating institutions, and interns under “Operation Zhang Qian 2017”.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Regina Ip, Co-Chair of MSRS said, “In the past year, MSRS had organized or participated in over 40 events with the aim of promoting greater understanding of and wider participation in ‘the Belt and Road Initiative’. In May, I attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. To celebrate Hong Kong joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a new member, our Society jointly organized with the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited the seminar on ‘Infrastructure Financing under the Belt and Road’. In mid-July, I led a delegation to attend the 2017 China Investment Forum in Prague and then proceeded to Greece to promote ‘the Belt and Road Initiative’ to the government and their investment agency.”

“Young people are the future of Hong Kong and the pillars of the nation. The Belt and Road Initiative presents new and varied opportunities for our young people. Since its inception last year, more than 170 local undergraduates had been provided internships under ‘Operation Zhang Qian’ to work in the Mainland and Belt and Road countries, which enabled them to have a better understanding of countries and regions along the Belt and Road,” Mrs Ip said.

Mrs Ip continued, “This year, the internship programme was supported by 19 sponsoring organizations which offered 156 internship places for Hong Kong undergraduates to work in mainland China, Greece, Czech Republic, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam for four to eight weeks. We received more than 600 applications. Eighty-six students were selected and completed their internship.”

Also speaking at the ceremony, Mr Roland Wong, Vice-Chair (Development) of the MSRS Youth Opportunities Committee said, “Applicants for the internship programme had to face keen competition from other students and strict requirements of host organizations. This year the number of places and applications increased by 30% and 20% respectively.”

Mr Wong is a mentor of “Operation Zhang Qian” Alumni Network. He encouraged interns to join the Network so that senior members could share their valuable experience with the freshmen of the internship scheme. In addition, these student alumni will be better equipped before joining the job market.”

In the sharing session, Mr Roland Wong and Ms Eunice Yung, Vice-Chair (Administration) of the MSRS Youth Opportunities Committee chatted with interns of “Outstanding Report Award” about their work experience, aspirations and achievements.

This year’s host organizations are Bank of China (HK) Limited, CEFC China Energy Company Limited, Chatrium Hotels and Residences, China Merchants Group, China National Travel Service Group Corporation, China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd, CLP Holdings Limited, Euroterra Capital, Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jardine Matheson Limited, K. Wah Construction Materials (HK) Co., Limited, Kerry Logistics Network Ltd, Lan Kwai Fong Group, Nanjing China Railway No. 2 Engineering Group Property Development Co., Ltd, Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, and YHS (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Local institutions participating in the internship programme include City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Lingnan University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Education University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The University of Hong Kong, and the Vocational Training Council.

Internship reports of deserving honourable mention have been uploaded on the MSRS website (www.maritimesilkroad.org.hk). Members of the public are also able to view the interns’ photos on the following channels:

MSRS website (www.maritimesilkroad.org.hk)

Facebook (www.facebook.com/maritimesilkroad)

Instagram (www.instagram.com/maritimesilkroad)

Click here for viewing Maritime Silk Road Society 2nd Anniversary Brochure.

1. Mrs Regina Ip delivering her remarks at the ceremony.