Hong Kong-born astronaut | Lai Ka-ying: Giving her all to live up to the country's expectations John Lee wishes for a successful mission

Shenzhou 23 will be launched at 11:08 p.m. tomorrow night. The flight crew will include payload expert Lai Ka-ying from Hong Kong.

Lai Ka-ying thanked the country and the SAR government for their support, and said she is deeply honored to represent the Hong Kong SAR in a national space mission. She will spare no effort to live up to the expectations of both the country and Hong Kong. At the same time, she hopes that this flight will inspire more young people in Hong Kong to pursue innovation and technology, and help contribute to the country’s efforts toward technological self-reliance and strength.

John Lee thanks the country for support; the significance is extraordinary and deeply encouraging

Chief Executive John Lee thanked the country for its support and trust in the Hong Kong SAR, and congratulated Lai Ka-ying on becoming part of the country’s fourth batch of astronauts through rigorous selection and training, contributing Hong Kong’s strength to the country’s space endeavors. He also wished the Shenzhou 23 crewed flight mission a complete success.

John Lee said that this year is the start of the country’s “15th Five-Year Plan” period. Hong Kong is experiencing a historic moment in its space dreams: Hong Kong experts have become astronauts participating in a flight mission for the first time. Its significance is extraordinary, and it is deeply uplifting. He expressed his heartfelt thanks to the country for giving the Hong Kong SAR’s science and technology talent a valuable opportunity to take part in national space endeavors.

He noted that the Hong Kong SAR has long been actively contributing to the country’s space engineering. Different research institutions and universities have enthusiastically taken part in aerospace research projects, including providing system, instrument, and technical support for the country’s lunar and Mars exploration missions, as well as conducting space-based onboard experiments. Under “One Country, Two Systems,” Hong Kong has unique advantages of being backed by the motherland while staying connected to the world. With 5 universities among the global top 100, Hong Kong provides strong momentum for cultivating and gathering innovation and technology talent.

Fully demonstrating the country’s high recognition of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology talent

He added that Hong Kong has, for the first time, had scientific researchers participate in a flight mission. This is not only a recognition of their individual abilities, but also fully demonstrates the country’s high recognition of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology talent, as well as its development and achievements. It also further reflects the high level of importance the country attaches to, and its care and support for, the development of Hong Kong’s technology. He extended warm congratulations to Lai Ka-ying and sincerely wished her a successful completion of the flight mission.

Lai Ka-ying is a superintendent in the Hong Kong Police Force. She is a native of Hong Kong and obtained a Ph.D. in computer forensics. During the country’s fourth batch of reserve astronaut selection launched in 2022, she was successfully selected to become a payload expert, and was then assigned to the China Astronaut Research and Training Center for training. Payload experts are responsible for conducting experiments in areas such as scientific and applied research on the space station.

CMSA Office: Lai Ka-ying’s current status is good; the crew is working in close coordination

The China Manned Spaceflight Office said that Lai Ka-ying entered the team in August 2024. She completed training in more than 8 categories and over 200 training subjects, accumulating more than 1,700 hours in total, and passed the flight qualification assessment with excellent results.

According to the mission arrangements, after completing reinforced flight mission training such as space science research and technical experiments, management of the space station’s combination structures, and operations of the crewed spacecraft and the space robotic arm, she met all requirements for carrying out the flight mission. As the payload expert for the Shenzhou 23 crewed flight mission, she is currently in good overall condition, and the crew is working in close coordination.

The spokesperson also introduced that, regarding how Hong Kong’s strength can help advance the country’s space endeavors, in recent years it has been encouraging to see Hong Kong’s scientific research community actively integrating into the overall development of the national space endeavor. Hong Kong universities and research institutions have conducted in-depth exchanges and collaboration with relevant national research teams. The Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft launched earlier this month carries a lightweight and small greenhouse-gas point source detection payload developed by universities in Hong Kong, which can perform high-resolution monitoring of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations at key emission point sources within mid- and low-latitude regions.

Fully leveraging Hong Kong’s international advantages under “One Country, Two Systems”

At the same time, some projects are currently being thoroughly demonstrated and advanced. It is believed that under “One Country, Two Systems,” Hong Kong can fully leverage its international advantages, further gather and cultivate high-end technology and innovation talent, and contribute to the development of China’s crewed spaceflight endeavors.