The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, visited Eastern District today (November 17) and toured a secondary school which enrols non-ethnic Chinese students. He also met with members of the Eastern District Council (DC), in the company of the Vice Chairman of the Eastern DC, Mr Chiu Chi-keung, and the District Officer (Eastern), Ms Anne Teng, to exchange views on district matters, and spoke with students who have participated in the E-League programme to learn about their exchange tours to the Mainland.
 
     Mr Nip first visited Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College, where 90 per cent of the some 360 students are non-ethnic Chinese. He said he was concerned about the schooling of ethnic minorities, especially their learning of the Chinese language, and observed a Chinese language class of Secondary Six students. He then toured the school facilities including the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lab, the needlework room, the library and the Arabic classroom and was briefed by teachers on the learning of Putonghua by the ethnic minority students.
 
     Mr Nip also recorded a short video for the school's campus TV to share his thoughts after visiting the school. He encouraged the ethnic minority students to devote themselves to their study, proactively participate in activities and make friends with people from different walks of life so as to integrate into the community.
 
     Mr Nip then met with members of the Eastern DC to exchange views on district and social affairs. He expressed gratitude to the DC members for their dedication in serving the public and in participating in community affairs.
 
     After the meeting with DC members, Mr Nip joined a sharing session with students who have participated in the E-League programme in different years to learn about their experience gained in exchange tours to the Mainland. He expressed the hope that young people could grasp the opportunities to visit different Mainland cities with a view to gaining a better understanding of the country.
 
     The E-League programme is one of the Government's efforts in supporting youth development with the aim of building up a youth network in Eastern District. Participating students will be given all-round training and diversified learning opportunities, including visits and exchange programmes to the Mainland and overseas cities.

Ends/Friday, November 17, 2017
Issued at HKT 19:18

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