No wallets in Shenzhen? Hong Kong civil servants back from exchange share expertise, lessons from mainland counterparts
- Exchange programme gives officials insights into nation’s policy direction, development trends, history and culture
- Group of 10 officers spent three months attached to mainland agencies, taking part in field trips and exchanges
A group of 10 Hong Kong civil servants have just returned from three months in the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, where they shared their expertise as well as learned from counterparts across the border.
Carmen Chan Suet-ying, a senior town planner in the Hong Kong Planning Department, said she was asked a lot of questions about building a pedestrian walkway network during her stint at the Authority of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone.
“On the second day I started working there, the mainland civil servants eagerly sought advice from me,” she said. “They think Hong Kong is a veteran in this area.”
She added mainland planners wanted to know which of two commercial buildings should be responsible for building a connecting footbridge, who would manage it after it was completed and what they should consider when planning accessibility facilities.
Chan said Hong Kong planners drew on their experience in building the Central elevated walkway, the extensive footbridge network spanning Admiralty, Central and parts of Sheung Wan.
