A record 16 civil servants from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) are set to begin two-year assignments at various United Nations agencies this month, marking the largest group recommended by Beijing to join the UN Junior Professional Officer (JPO) program to date. The officers, drawn from 13 different grades and departments including customs, police, and anti-corruption bodies, will work in UN offices located in New York, Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi.
The JPO program offers young professionals hands-on experience in multilateral technical cooperation and international development, aiming to enhance their global governance capabilities. This latest cohort follows previous groups of five officers in 2019, when Hong Kong first joined the program, and 12 officers in 2023. Nearly half of the officers from earlier groups received extensions of their UN tenures due to their strong performance.
Speaking at a ceremony held at the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in Hong Kong, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu highlighted the significance of these appointments. He said the officers represent Hong Kong’s contribution to China’s broader engagement with international challenges and act as ambassadors demonstrating the successful application of the “one country, two systems” principle. Lee encouraged them to share positive and authentic accounts of Hong Kong and China with international colleagues, and to return with enhanced experience and international networks to support the SAR’s socioeconomic development.
The exercise also coincides with the upcoming launch of Hong Kong’s first five-year plan on September 16, which aligns with China’s national 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030). This regional roadmap seeks to strengthen Hong Kong’s economic and social development while reinforcing its position as a platform for exchange between China and the global community.
Cui Jianchun, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, emphasized the strategic role of this initiative in leveraging the “one country, two systems” framework. He noted that Hong Kong’s young civil servants, proficient in multiple languages and fluent in both Chinese and Western cultural environments, possess skills and perspectives that can meaningfully contribute to global governance. Amid emerging global challenges including rising unilateralism and protectionism, Cui said the UN requires more qualified talent. Hong Kong’s expertise in finance, intellectual property, anti-corruption, and meteorology further equips it to make substantive contributions to international multilateral efforts.
Officials and participants in the program expressed optimism about the opportunity. Leo Ng, a Drainage Services Department engineer from a previous cohort, said the program allowed international counterparts to better understand Hong Kong’s distinctive culture. Senior Inspector of Police Danyl Wu, assigned to the UN’s drug control section in Vienna, expressed hopes to deepen his grasp of multilateral cooperation frameworks and apply this knowledge in the SAR’s public administration and talent training upon his return.
Similarly, Felix Yung Yik-ho of the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau anticipates that participating in the UN will broaden his global perspective beyond Hong Kong’s role as an international financial center. Cindy Ho Pui-ha, an anti-corruption investigator who served in Vienna in 2023, highlighted the opportunity to share Hong Kong’s expertise on the world stage and to counter negative international perceptions by telling the city’s story firsthand.
The continued growth in the number of Hong Kong civil servants participating in the UN JPO program reflects increasing efforts by the central government and the HKSAR to integrate Hong Kong’s talent pool into international governance, fostering a closer link between the city, the nation, and the broader global community.