May 24, 2026 – Hong Kong – The launch of the manned Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft on May 24 marks a new milestone in China’s manned space programme, as well as the first time the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has sent an astronaut to participate in a national manned spaceflight mission. It fully demonstrates the HKSAR Government’s commitment to aligning with the strategic development of emerging industries under the National 15th Five-Year Plan, accelerating the construction of an international I&T centre and dedicating efforts to the development of frontier technology fields including aerospace technology, artificial intelligence, and biomedicine, leveraging Hong Kong’s unique strengths to integrate into and serve the national agenda.
Mr. Vincent Ma, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park Limited (HSITPL) said, “The Shenzhou-23 mission represents a major milestone for the national space program and a historic moment as for the First Hong Kong astronaut to participate in a national manned spaceflight mission. It reflects the nation’s support and recognition of Hong Kong’s participation in national scientific and technological development. As an I&T park with the vision of serving as a world-class technology hub connecting the Mainland and the rest of the world, we are deeply inspired and encouraged by this exciting achievement. We will use this as motivation to fully advance the construction of an international I&T hub, accelerating the convergence of top-tier global I&T talent and resources, leveraging the role of the Hong Kong Park in the Loop as an international I&T bridgehead to make greater contributions to the nation’s pursuit of high-level Science and Technology self-reliance and independent innovation capacity.”
On the evening of May 24, the launch of the Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft was livestreamed in the networking area of the talent accommodation at Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HSITP), where I&T talents gathered this historic moment in the nation’s manned space programme.
Upon its official opening in December last year, the first three buildings of Phase 1 development at HSITP, including two wet laboratory-enabled buildings and one talent accommodation building, are now in operation. The remaining five buildings in the first batch of Phase I development are scheduled to be completed in an orderly manner by the end of this year. HSITPL is also proactively advancing the development of Batches 2 and 3 in Phase 1. Last year, HSITPL invited the market to submit expression of interest for the development of selected land parcels, and it is expected to launch a public tender for the development of selected land parcels in June this year, aiming to harness market forces to drive the collective development of HSITP Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park.