Financial Secretary Paul Chan said technological innovation and youth talent development are intrinsically linked, with education playing a key role in the relationship.

Writing in his weekly blog, Chan said he invited more than a dozen elementary school students to explore a newly launched "Hong Kong Tech Showcase" pop-up zone at the ongoing book fair.

The exhibition features cutting-edge innovations across education, health, sports and food sectors.

The finance chief said the goal was to ignite students' curiosity by giving them firsthand experience with technology development and application, potentially opening doors to deeper scientific and technological learning.

"In this era of rapid technological changes, talent must possess keen intuition and curiosity, the ability to quickly understand new things and a strong commitment to continuous learning and research," he said.

"More importantly, they must have the courage to try, the willingness to innovate and the resilience to face failure."

Chan also said that he recently spoke with a group of young people at Science Park, where representatives from startups highlighted several factors that attract them to pursue innovation and technology in Hong Kong.

These include the city's investment in technological development, support for startups, and a diverse and inclusive environment that attracts global talent and strong connections to the Greater Bay Area market and production base.

"This year, the internship programme at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks received a record of more than 5,000 applications. Ultimately, only 450 people were accepted. Among them, two-thirds of the interns come from the top 50 universities in the world, including leading institutions in Europe and the United States, while nearly 30 percent are international students," he said.

"This clearly reflects the international attractiveness of Hong Kong's innovation and technology ecosystem."

The finance chief added that the expanding tech sector will provide Hong Kong’s youth with diverse, high-quality career pathways, empowering them to realise their ambitions and achieve their dreams.