The participation of Lai Ka-ying – Hong Kong’s first astronaut – in the Shenzhou XXIII manned spaceflight not only shows the nation’s recognition of her talent, but also its trust in and support for the special administrative region, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Sunday.
Lee spoke in a video posted on his social media page in which he called Lai, together with Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong and Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan.
The China Manned Space Agency revealed the three-member crew of the Shenzhou XXIII mission on Saturday. Lai, a local payload specialist, is the first female civilian in the country to go into orbit and also the first astronaut from the HKSAR.
A superintendent and technical specialist with the Hong Kong Police Force, Lai will lift off into space at 11:08 pm on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China’s Gansu province, along with mission commander and spaceflight engineer Colonel Zhu Yangzhu, and spacecraft pilot Colonel Zhang Zhiyuan.
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Extending his greetings and well-wishes to Lai, Lee said Hong Kong is “very proud” she has become the city’s first astronaut to join the nation’s manned space mission.
Describing her training as “tough”, Lai said the schedule had been very tight every day, but she’s now ready to go into space. “I’ll definitely do my best,” she said, adding she’s confident she could accomplish the mission.
Lee said he looks forward to hearing Lai’s experience in space, wishes her every success, and hopes she’ll “write a brilliant chapter for our country’s aerospace development”.
“I hope to return to Hong Kong very soon to experience everything as I’ve never left Hong Kong for such a long period,” Lai said.
Sun said Hong Kong s proud of Lai who had completed more than a year of rigorous training to meet the standards for conducting missions in space.
Yeung said Hong Kong’s more than 170,000 civil servants are also very proud of Lai.
