Young people in SARs can play role in US-China diplomacy

A video recently uploaded of a conversation with the U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau questioned the role today’s youth may play in the future of U.S.-China relations in the two SARs.
Vivian Lau, president of JA Asia Pacific, a non-profit organization inspiring young people and preparing them for careers, and Consul General Clifford Hart discussed the issue in a video uploaded on the Facebook page of the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau.
“Hong Kong and Macau already have mature relationships with the United States,” said Hart. “We have had thousands of students go to the U.S. over the years from both places; we have tens of thousands of business people [from the territories in the U.S.]; and lots of family relationships… so it’s not as though we’re exploring new territory.”
He said that young people in the two SARs can continue to play an important role in people-to-people diplomacy.
“For young people looking to promote this relationship, I’d encourage them to think very broadly about what diplomacy means […] The most important dimension of dialogue – diplomacy writ large – is people-to-people,” he said.
Hart, who assumed office in July 2013, will step down from the post shortly to be succeeded next month by Kurt Tong, the current principal deputy assistant secretary of the Department of State.