A Filipino delegate joined this year’s Dragon 100, a Hong Kong-based forum that gathers 100 leading ethnic Chinese youth from around the world, for meetings and visits from 28 July until 4 August in the territory and mainland China to exchange ideas, network and study recent development pertaining to Chinese culture and identity.
Makati-based lawyer Jennifer C. Lee joined peers aged 18-35 from Hong Kong, the mainland, Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and the United Kingdom, among others, at the Commissioning Ceremony as newest “Dragons” held on 30 July 2018 at the City Garden Hotel at North Point in Hong Kong Island’s East District.
In his keynote speech, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen encouraged the participants to learn as much as they can about the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Initiative, which intends to harness the economic potential of cities in the Pearl River Delta as an innovation, technology and growth hub.
Representing the Philippine Consulate General, Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza congratulated Ms Lee on her selection to the flagship program founded in 2002 by the Hong Kong Government-supported Dragon Foundation as a platform of interaction, exchange and collaboration among talented young people of Chinese heritage around the world.
This year’s Dragon 100 delegates explored China’s past, present and future under this year’s theme of “Cooperation and Development in the Greater Bay Area” by attending forums, meeting government and corporate representatives, visiting historical sites and museums as well as networking with counterparts in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan and Guangzhou.
Only three Filipinos who have demonstrated skills and academic or non-academic (such as in arts or sports) talent and a commitment to the community, have qualified for the 16 years since the foundation of the Dragon 100 Chinese Young Leaders Forum.
Apart from Dragon 100, the Dragon Foundation also organizes the GoGo West Programme and Global Citizens Programme. Together with Dragon 100 participants, the alumni of the Dragon Foundation’s programs can take part in the DragoNation, which was established officially in May 2008 as a sustainable platform for alumni from all programs.
To date, more than 1,800 Chinese talents from 38 countries and regions count as members of DragoNation, which also now has 16 international chapters, including the Philippines.
The Dragon Foundation was established in 2000 as a non-profit, charitable organization by the Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau, Home Affairs Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups in order to nurture young people of Chinese origin worldwide as leaders of tomorrow.