Li Jiaying has been launched into space on the Shenzhou-23 Mission: HKSAR, marking a milestone moment for Hong Kong.
China has officially launched its space mission with Shenzhou 23. For the unversed, Shenzhou 23 is a Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station. It is carrying three taikonauts on board. According to reports, the mission is the 17th mission by China carrying actual people on board and the 23rd overall flight.
However, the flight is not only an important aerospace milestone for China but also a major milestone for Hong Kong, as the country launched its first citizen into space, Li Jiaying. So, as the astronaut makes the country swell with pride, let's take a quick look at what we know about her.
A Hong Kong astronaut, Li Jiaying, has the entire country cheering. Jiaying has made history as the first person sent into space by the country. However, many have grown curious about who she is. For the unversed, the first Hong Kong astronaut to have been launched into space is a 43-year-old police officer and mother of three. According to reports, she will serve as the payload scientist on the three-member crew that reached China's Tiangong space station on the night of Sunday, May 24, 2026. However, Jiaying is not the only one on the spaceflight; the two other astronauts on the mission are a 39-year-old space engineer, Zhu Yangzhu, and a 39-year-old former air force pilot, Zhang Zhiyuan.
CGTN's Wan Hongjia spoke with the Under Secretary for Security of the SAR's government after Shenzhou-23 was launched and expressed his pride over Li Jiaying being sent to space. When asked to share more about Jiaying, Hongjia revealed that she is setting an exceptionally good example for the "youngsters." He recalled that she holds the rank of superintendent in the police and is also a computer expert and a forensic computer expert, working in a very special unit in the police force. He shared that before being selected for the Shenzhou-23 space mission, she was seconded to the Security Bureau, where she worked on some special projects. He further added:
"I did see her from time to time. I feel the way she talks today is exactly the same; she never changes. She always has quiet confidence. She is very resilient and very calm. She is really a very stable person and certainly very professional too."
Hong Kong Chief Executive, John Lee called Li Jiaying's inclusion in the Shenzhou-23 mission a "historic" moment. For the unversed, Jiaying was inspired by Yang Liwei, who was the first person sent to space by China's space programme. She even spoke to Xinhua news agency and revealed that it was a "rare chance", and hence she thought it would be worth a try. Before making the launch on Sunday, Jiaying said, according to state broadcaster CCTV: "How high our Chinese spacecraft flies, that's how high we can hold our heads high". According to many, her success story will motivate many young souls to pursue the line of work and promote further development in the space world.
According to reports, at least one member of the Shenzhou 23 mission will spend a full year in orbit as part of a key experiment. However, it will be a while before the authorities determine who that will be. The mission is an ambitious space program helmed by China to send humans to space by 2030. The Shenzhou-23 is tasked with studying the effects of microgravity on the human body, among many experiments.
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