The Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said the successful selection of a Hong Kong astronaut in the national space programme marked a “glorious chapter” in the city’s history.

His remarks came after state broadcaster CCTV, quoting the China Manned Space Agency, reported that the 10 people were selected as the fourth batch of national preparatory astronauts, among whom eight were space pilots, and two were payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau.

Speaking ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said he felt very excited and encouraged by the selection of a Hong Kong candidate, as he thanked the central government for providing the opportunity for Hongkongers to participate.

"It's only under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle that the SAR is eligible for selection in the national space programme, as the programme is a national task.”

“Secondly, [the selection] indicates that the nation attaches great importance to the SAR's technological and innovation development. The SAR government will continue to promote measures to nurture more innovation and technology talent and support the city in becoming an international tech and innovation hub,” Lee said.

Echoing Lee, the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Sun Dong, also expressed his congratulations, as he pledged the SAR government would do everything possible to assist the candidate successfully complete their training on the mainland.

“I know the public is looking forward to knowing about who is selected, but as we know there are many considerations from the nation when selecting preparatory astronauts, and in its usual practice, the nation will only publish the number of the candidates for the time being, and will not reveal the identities of the candidates.”

“The SAR government will continue to maintain communications with mainland authorities, and publish details in due course,” Sun said.

The technology chief also noted the candidate was among 120 people who were originally signed up for the recruitment drive in Hong Kong.

“In addition to the basic physical and educational requirements, there’s also quite diverse professional requirements in areas including natural science, engineering, biomedics,” Sun said.

While both Lee and Sun did not disclose the Hong Kong astronaut’s identity and other details, sources told RTHK the person selected was Lai Ka-ying, a chief inspector with the Hong Kong Police Force.

She has a doctoral degree and has three children. She will travel to the mainland for subsequent training.

The recruitment of astronauts from Hong Kong and Macau was launched in October 2022, marking the first time the nation’s space programme considered selecting astronauts from the two SARs.

Three selection rounds have been held since the recruitment drive was launched, and Lee noted the recruitment process was very strict.