Two local secondary school students said in their respective speeches yesterday that they are committed to devoting themselves to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) in the future, contributing to Macau and the motherland.
The male junior high school student surnamed Chao said that the rapid development and changes in the GBA bring endless opportunities for local students to learn more about the development of “our motherland”, while enabling them to participate in practical exchanges there.
The female senior high school student surnamed Leong said that the GBA is a place of endless possibilities, where innovation, entrepreneurship and multiculturalism converge, adding: “As part of the GBA, we have a unique opportunity to shape our future there”.
The two students made the remarks during an award presentation ceremony for this year’s winners of the Macau Secondary School Students and University Students Greater Bay Area Essay Contests and the 4th Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Development Forum, at the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) in Zape. Both won in the junior high school and senior high school groups respectively.
Themed “Improving the Guangdong-Macau New System of Co-discussion, Co-construction, Co-management and Co-sharing in Hengqin”, the Chinese-language essay contests were organised by the Macau Youth Greater Bay Area Development Association, in conjunction with the MPU.
Harry Lai Meng San, president of the association, said in a speech during the event he expected that through the competition and the forum, students will get further insight into their possible career development in the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, while experiencing the rapid development of the GBA and gaining an in-depth understanding of the social situation and culture of the GBA cities, so as to provide a broader development space for their future career planning.
Meanwhile, during the forum, appointed lawmaker-cum-civil engineer Joe Wu Chou Kit gave a keynote speech on “Deepening the Construction of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin”, briefing students on various topics about the GBA, such as the future development of the GBA including Macau, GBA policy support for Hong Kong and Macau residents, and the professional certification procedures for Hong Kong and Macau
residents in the GBA’s nine cities in Guangdong province.
The GBA comprises the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions and the nine cities of Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Zhuhai in Guangdong. The total area is around 56,000 square kilometres (about the size of Croatia). The total population in the GBA is over 86 million (about the same as Germany).
Macau Youth Greater Bay Area Development Association President Harry Lai Meng San delivers a speech during yesterday’s award presentation ceremony for secondary school and university student essay contest winners and forum about the Greater Bay Area (GBA), at the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) in Zape. – Photo: Yuki Lei
