BEIJING: Nearly a decade of booming cross-boundary collaboration in science and technology between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland began with a single letter to Presi-dent Xi Jinping from a renowned Hong Kong scientist and fellow academicians, who advocated that national sci-tech funding be cleared for cross-boundary use.
The momentum, which continues to gain pace today, began in 2017 when Hong Kong scientist Nancy Ip Yuk-yu and 23 fellow academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Acade-my of Engineering sent the letter to Xi.
Before mid-2017, the research community in Hong Kong was facing hurdles to participate in the na-tion’s rapid sci-tech development, Ip recalled. Access to national research funding was proving to be a major stumbling block for Hong Kong researchers, preventing potential collaborations with the main-land, and Hong Kong-made scientific equipment faced tariffs when entering the mainland.
The academicians’ aspirations brought a swift response from Xi, unlocking a highly fruitful, decadent golden era of cross-boundary technological cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Today, a grander vision is taking shape. The Hong Kong SAR is poised to play a pivotal role in propelling the nation to becoming a technological powerhouse under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), Ip said in an exclusive interview with China Daily ahead of the 29th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland on July 1.
Ip, a renowned neuroscientist and president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, reflected upon the decade-long improvement in Hong Kong’s research environment and national sup-port. She pledged further contributions toward the nation’s strategic goal of technological self-reliance.
In an unprecedented move in June 2017, hoping to better integrate the Hong Kong SAR into the na-tion’s scientific development, Ip and 23 other Hong Kong-based academicians wrote the letter to Xi, outlining the challenges they faced.
Xi responded quickly and instructed relevant authorities to follow up.
The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance then promulgated provisions on opening up science and technology funding of the central government for use by higher education institutions and research institutions in Hong Kong.
This included arrangements for cross-boundary utilization of approved project funding to the SAR.
By September that year, a pilot program was in place, allowing cross-boundary use of research funding at two laboratories — one at HKUST and one at University of Hong Kong. By April 2018, 22 State-level labs in Hong Kong had been approved to receive a total of 22 million yuan ($3.24 million).
Chan Ching-chuen, Hong Kong’s first academician elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was a co-signatory of the letter to Xi.
The swift response from Xi to the letter, which conveyed the aspirations of Hong Kong scientists to contribute to the nation’s needs, injected confidence in Hong Kong’s sci-tech sector, said Chan, who is widely lauded for being the “father of Asian electric vehicles”. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
