Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak will depart tomorrow for a visit to Beijing and Sichuan.
 
Miss Mak will call on the State Council's Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office, Sichuan's Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office and relevant ministries and institutions to deepen exchanges and co-operation with the Mainland in areas of youth development, district governance, women's development and religious affairs.
 
She plans to attend the inauguration ceremonies of the Hong Kong-Macao Youth Internship Programme at Palace Museum and the Youth Internship Programme at Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as the closing ceremony of the Youth Internship Programme at Wolong Region of Giant Panda National Park.
 
These three programmes are under the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau’s Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland 2025 that are jointly organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the cultural, scientific research and nature conservation institutions on the Mainland.
 
Through diverse thematic internship opportunities, the programmes aim to help Hong Kong youths gain a deeper understanding of the country's development and acquire knowledge of relevant disciplines and professional fields.
 
The youth affairs chief will meet with the interns and learn about their lives and experiences on the Mainland.
 
Miss Mak will return to Hong Kong on the afternoon of July 18. During her absence, Under Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Clarence Leung will be Acting Secretary.