In what municipal authorities described as an “ice-breaking move” the Chinese city of Shenzhen plans to hire four young Hong Kongers as Public Servants.
A city spokesperson said this was the start of a recruitment drive targeting applicants from neighbouring Hong Kong and Macau.
“The positions span duties such as administrative work, financial regulation, as well as urban planning and monitoring roles in the medical sector,” the spokesperson said.
Shenzhen authorities also revealed that three other young Hong Kong candidates had already been selected in the first batch of Public Servants from the city, under a separate recruitment process launched by the Guangdong Provincial Government.
Of the three recruits, two work in market regulation under the Shenzhen Administration, while another reports to the technological innovation and economic services authority of Dapeng District.
Mainland authorities said Hong Kong and other cities in the country had organised exchange programs for Public Servants since 2002, but the latest measure was prompted by the Bay Area Plan, a scheme aimed at transforming Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, along with eight other mainland cities, into a single economic and innovation zone.
Chair of the Youth Branch of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Noel Shih hailed the hiring plan as a milestone in the cooperation between the two cities.
He said the policy would offer local young people more opportunities.
However, critics said the Bay Area Plan would destroy the last shreds of Hong Kong’s autonomy under the One Country Two Systems policy.
Shenzhen, 22 May 2021
