A glance of Hong Kong Science Park. (PHOTO: VCG)

By CHEN Chunyou

On September 7, a seminar on China's central government's sci-tech policies benefitting Hong Kong was held at the Hong Kong Science Park. Representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) introduced a number of new measures to strengthen support for science and technology innovation in Hong Kong.

The measures benefitting Hong Kong include opening up more national-level sci-tech programs, allowing young scholars to apply for the Excellent Young Scientists Fund, NSFC, welcoming Hong Kong's sci-tech personnel and experts to participate in nationwide academic associations of the CAST, and be admitted to the national sci-tech expert database and the award assessment expert database, improving the mechanism on shared use of large instruments and equipment for research and development (R&D) with Hong Kong, and deepening sci-tech exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

Xu Jie, deputy director general of Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs at MOST, said Hong Kong's researchers can soon register an account through the national network management platform in response to the demand for large instruments and equipment in Hong Kong, and inquire about and reserve nationwide scientific instruments according to instrument categories, academic discipline, and geographical locations. Xu said a people-to-people exchange program on science and technology will be introduced for Hong Kong youth, including visiting national independent innovation demonstration areas, high-tech industrial development zones and leading high-tech enterprises, while supporting young scientists to conduct short-term studies in the mainland's research institutes.

Yang Shuxuan, deputy director of the Science and Technology Innovation Department of CAST, said that more than 3,000 Hong Kong industry professionals have joined the nationwide academic associations of the CAST and made positive contributions.

Meanwhile, Wang Changrui, director of Bureau of Planning and Policy of NSFC, said 64 research projects from Hong Kong and Macao have been funded by NSFC, with a total funding of 87.7 million RMB. The NSFC plans to release a guide to the young scientists fund for Hong Kong and Macao in December this year, for which young scholars eligible are welcomed to apply.

Sit Wing-hang, secretary for Innovation and Technology of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said that opening up more projects and supplying the mainland's large instruments and equipment to Hong Kong will help the local research sector obtain more resources to conduct R&D work. The participation of Hong Kong's sci-tech personnel and experts in national academic associations of the CAST and different expert databases could allow Hong Kong's researchers to better utilize "the advantage of Hong Kong" and serve the national needs for development.

Sit stressed that the national 14th Five-Year Plan gives clear support for Hong Kong to build an international innovation and technology hub. Research teams in Hong Kong will actively integrate into the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and promote Hong Kong as an innovation hub with international influence, contributing to China's development into a sci-tech powerhouse.