Hong Kong university students who completed a nine-day, two-stage summer camp that took place in Beijing and Indonesia said on Wednesday that it has given them deeper understanding of the country’s diplomatic achievements, while inspiring them to strive for the country’s progress.

Thirty students from 12 local universities participated in the 10th “Friends of Diplomacy” summer camp organized by the Office of the Commissioners of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which began on June 1 and concluded on Monday.

This year marks the resumption of the annual summer camp which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During their stay in Beijing between June 1 and June 4, the students visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and engaged in discussions with the ministry's spokespersons and young diplomats.

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They also attended thematic lectures at China Foreign Affairs University and visited the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council to learn about the central government's policies towards Hong Kong.

During the Indonesian leg of the trip from June 5 to Monday, students visited the ASEAN Secretariat and the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia, traveled on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway — a joint venture under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — and spoke with teachers and students from local universities.

Addressing a sharing session on Wednesday, Pan Yundong, deputy commissioner of the office and head of the student delegation, said all participating students experienced the country’s diplomatic achievements with their own eyes, and expressed a confident, open-minded, and enterprising spirit during the trip.

“I hope these students can grow into future talents who are socially responsible, dedicated to Hong Kong and the nation, and endowed with a global outlook,” Pan said.

Chan Tsz-tung, a student from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said she was impressed by the high-speed railway.

As Southeast Asia's first high-speed rail service, Chan said she felt the project has served as a vital link for the global community of a shared future.

Chinese engineers have tailored railway design to fit in local conditions, and used their expertise to connect the fates of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), noted Chan.

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Ngan Ka-yi, a third-year student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, majoring in Global China Studies, said the camp enabled her to feel the warmth and profundity of major-country diplomacy and comprehend that diplomacy operates on multiple levels. Acknowledging Hong Kong's unique advantages in the nation’s diplomatic strategies, Ngan said: “As a youth of Hong Kong, we should also tell the good stories of the country and Hong Kong.”

Chan Hin-wing, who studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong School of Journalism and Communication, said she recognized the news media’s pivotal role of narrating the country’s story.

News coverage should start with the narratives of the people, focusing on their voices, emotions, lives, and stories, she said.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com