HONG KONG -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said on Tuesday that Hong Kong prides itself on having one resident selected as a member of China's fourth batch of astronauts, adding that he is extremely uplifted and encouraged by the good news.

This will go down in history as the first time for a payload expert from Hong Kong to become an astronaut, Lee said.

He thanked the central government for including Hong Kong candidates in the selection, which he deemed a show of support for Hong Kong's sci-tech development.

Lee noted that research and development teams from Hong Kong's universities had provided assistance for national space projects on many occasions, and having a resident make the cut for astronaut further attested to the innovative prowess of the city's sci-tech talents.

The HKSAR government will continue to roll out measures to foster more talents and make Hong Kong an international sci-tech innovation center, he said.