The first group of students of the Master of Public Policy for Senior Civil Servants graduated today (with photos)

The first batch of the Master’s Degree in Public Policy Programme for senior government officials in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) graduated today (July 3). They received their certificates at a graduation ceremony hosted by the School of Government, Peking University. The Secretary for the Civil Service, Ms. Ingrid Yeung, and the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr. Clement Leung, witnessed the important graduation of these high-potential officials and look forward to their better service to Hong Kong with the knowledge they have acquired.


Speaking at the ceremony, Ms Yeung said civil servants are the backbone of the government. As Hong Kong moves towards a new era of stability and prosperity, identifying and cultivating more talented individuals in the government who are patriotic and love Hong Kong, have good morals and integrity, are competent and people-oriented, and have an innovative spirit and an international perspective is crucial to enhancing the government’s ability to govern and lead Hong Kong in addressing the current complicated international landscape and challenges.


Ms. Yeung expressed her gratitude to the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HKMAO) for their strong support and to Peking University for attaching great importance to the programme. Ms. Yeung said that by participating in the year-long intensive learning programme in Beijing, the participants had in-depth exchanges with scholars, officials and the general public, which greatly deepened their understanding of the country and enriched their knowledge of the country’s politics and public administration. The insights gained from the development experience on the mainland also prompted the participants to reflect thoughtfully on what areas and experiences Hong Kong can learn and how to combine the strengths of both the mainland and Hong Kong systems to complement each other, so that Hong Kong can move faster, gain more and make a greater contribution to the country in its active integration with the country’s overall development. The knowledge and examples of public administration they learned also prompted them to reflect on how to make the HKSAR’s governance more efficient after returning to work, more in line with public sentiment and thus achieve the most for the people.


Mr. Frederick Yu, a civil servant, was one of the graduates’ representatives. During the ceremony, Mr. Yu pledged on behalf of all the participants to support the HKSAR government in enhancing its management capacity through practice and action, to actively respond to the aspirations of the people, thus showing gratitude to the HKMAO, the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) and Peking University for cultivating them.


The Master of Public Policy Program is co-organized by CSB and Peking University. Participants, who come from various professional fields, are government officials recommended by their departments and have demonstrated leadership potential and outstanding achievements. The program covers four main areas, namely public administration and leadership skills, domestic governance and Hong Kong affairs, global affairs and management, and social studies and fieldwork. The program lasts for two years. Participants are required to study full-time at Peking University for the first year. Participants will return to Hong Kong in the second year to complete their thesis and apply their knowledge to improve Hong Kong governance.


Before the ceremony, the delegation led by Ms Yeung met with the President of Peking University, Mr Gong Qihuang, to exchange views on civil service training.


Ms. Yeung said that the CSB has long had a good cooperation with Peking University. She thanked the university’s teachers for attaching great importance to and giving full support to the civil service training of the HKSAR Government, and organizing various programs with the Civil Service College to strengthen civil servants’ sense of national identity and deepen their understanding of the country, so as to better support the development of the country and Hong Kong.


After the ceremony, Ms. Yeung met and spoke with the first batch of graduates and HKSAR officials currently studying at Peking University to better understand their educational experiences and reflections. She reminded them that officials must take leadership responsibility by leading their teams to proactively implement government policies and work together to achieve good governance for Hong Kong after graduation.

Ends/Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Issued at 20:12 HKT

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