A flag-raising ceremony is held to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland in Hongkong on Sunday morning. [Photo/Xinhua] Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said on Sunday she has even greater confidence in Hong Kong a year after taking office, thanks to strong support from the central government and joint efforts from different sectors. She made the remark to about 2,000 guests, including representatives of the central government and the SAR government, foreign diplomats in Hong Kong and local dignitaries, at a reception celebrating the 21st anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland on Sunday morning after a flag-raising ceremony. Lam attributed her confidence to the central government's strong support and President Xi Jinping's care for Hong Kong. During his three-day inspection tour from June 29 to July 2 last year, marking the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the mainland, Xi expressed his cordial care for Hong Kong and gave four imperatives. Xi's visit created the exceptionally favorable ground for the current-term Hong Kong government to run the city in accordance with the law, assume a proactive role, develop the economy and improve people's livelihoods, Lam said. Over the past year, Hong Kong maintained robust economic growth, recording a 3.8 percent increase in real gross domestic product in 2017, followed by 4.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018. The unemployment rate dropped to a 20-year low of 2.8 percent. Lam and the SAR government's work and achievement during the past year was recognized by Wang Zhimin, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the SAR, who said at a separate event on Sunday that her first year was a good start. Wang said Lam and the SAR government managed the city in accordance with the law and implemented the one country, two systems principle by making full use of Hong Kong's unique competitiveness and actively joining the national development. Wong Kwok-kin, a Legislative Council member from the city's biggest labor union, said Lam is bold and resolute in building public trust in the government, improving the administrative-legislative relationship and fostering social cohesion. Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the city's largest political party, agreed with Wong. Lee noted that in the past year there was an increase in the number of bills and the amount of works funding passed by the Legislative Council. After assuming office, the chief executive has attended legislative meetings often to answer questions from lawmakers. Enhanced communication between the government and the legislature means greater efficiency, Lee said. Speaking of the government's work in the future, Lam emphasized the importance of engaging young people. The government has been providing young people with more opportunities to take up internships on the Chinese mainland for deeper understanding of national developments and to participate in the Hong Kong SAR's affairs. And Hong Kong youth today enjoy bright prospects and abundant opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development. Young people should aspire to develop into a new generation with a sense of national identity, an affection for Hong Kong and an international perspective, who are also passionate about and committed to the well-being of the Hong Kong community, Lam said. personalised rubber wristbandsyouth wristbandssilicone keychainjordan wristbandcustom rubber bands
China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 1 completed an automated fast-docking operation with the Tiangong II space laboratory late on Tuesday night, according to the China Manned Space Agency. Tianzhou 1 began its approach to the space lab at 5:24 pm and spent six and a half hours for the docking, which was completed at 11:58 pm, the agency said in a news release. It was the third docking sequence between the two spacecraft and the first that was done with the fast-docking technology. The previous two dockings took about two days each. The mission was intended to verify the cargo spacecraft's fast-docking capability, which is important to the construction and operation of China's space station, the agency said, adding that Tianzhou 1 will conduct a third refueling with Tiangong II before falling back to Earth. Yang Yuguang, a member of the International Astronautical Federation's Space Transportation Committee, said it is important for a cargo spacecraft to be able to dock quickly with a space station. "In the future, a cargo ship will transport some time-sensitive payloads to the station, such as biological samples for scientific experiments," he said. "In addition, the fast-docking technology enables a spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption during a docking maneuver, thus prolonging its life span." Tianzhou 1, China's first cargo spacecraft and the country's biggest spacecraft that has ever been built, was launched at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on April 20. It is 10.6 meters long and has a diameter of 3.35 meters. Its maximum liftoff weight is 13.5 metric tons, enabling it to carry up to 6.5 tons of supplies, according to the China Academy of Space Technology, the spacecraft's developer. Tiangong II has been in space since mid-September last year and housed two Chinese astronauts from mid-October to mid-November. It is now unmanned. The two spacecraft completed their first and second docking on April 22 and June 19. With the mission of Tianzhou 1 to the Tiangong II space laboratory, China has become the third country in the world to have in-orbit refueling technology, following Russia and the United States. In coming years, the Tianzhou series will be tasked with transporting supplies of fuel and other necessities to China's manned space station, whose construction will start next year. It is expected to enter service by about 2022, the space agency said.
