Five Hong Kong civil servants to join UN as junior professional officers

As Hong Kong gears up for mass protests during the Christmas holidays, Beijing recommended five young civil servants from the embattled region to take up positions in the United Nations from next month. The move is seen as an attempt to quell months-long pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong questioning China’s growing interference.

First batch of JPOs

Xie Feng, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) announced that the young civil servants will join the UN as the first batch of junior professional officers (JPO).

"From the five junior professional officers and young people here, I see excellent qualities and morals valued by most young people in Hong Kong," said Xie. The official claimed that there are a handful of radical protesters in Hong Kong and they do not represent the youth of the region.

Read: Hong Kong Riot Police Enter Shopping Malls To Detain Protesters

According to media reports, it is the first time that mainland Chinese official worked with Hong Kong authorities to allow the young professionals to join the UN Junior Professional Officer Programme. United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs said that it has been managing and supporting the assignments of 281 JPOs as of November 2019. The 281 JPOs are from 24 donor countries and from 35 different nationalities with an overwhelming 67% majority of female professionals. They are working for more than 36 different UN Departments/Offices including Regional Commissions and Peacekeeping Missions.

Read: Hong Kong 'should Continue To Be Free And Open': Japan Tells China

Amid the ongoing Hong Kong crisis, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Special Administrative Region should 'continue to remain free and open'. Otaka Masato, the spokesperson of Abe, said that the Prime Minister urged China to continue its 'self-restraint' over the former British colony and expressed his 'hope for an early resolution of the situation'.

The pro-democracy protests have already entered into the seventh month and have witnessed violent clashes between the protesters and Hong Kong Police, causing utter chaos in the city of 7.5 million people.

Read: Hong Kong: Protestors Clash With Riot Police In A Rally Held In Support Of Uighur Muslims

Read: Hong Kong Gears Up For Mass Protests During Christmas Holidays

(With inputs from agencies)