HONG KONG --?John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, on Saturday congratulated Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, on becoming a member of China's fourth batch of astronauts.

Lee expressed gratitude to the country for its support for and trust in the HKSAR, and wished the Shenzhou XXIII crewed spaceflight mission great success.

The China Manned Space Agency announced on Saturday that Lai, the first astronaut from the HKSAR, was selected as a payload specialist for the Shenzhou XXIII?crewed spaceflight mission. She will carry out the mission alongside flight engineer Zhu Yangzhu and spacecraft pilot Zhang Zhiyuan.

The spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:08 pm Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

"We are deeply inspired by this moment of extraordinary significance, where a Hong Kong specialist takes part in the spaceflight mission as an astronaut for the first time," said Lee. This reflected the care and support the country has given to Hong Kong's technological development, he added.

"I wish Lai every success in the spaceflight mission," said Lee.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Lai worked for the Hong Kong Police Force before being selected as an astronaut. She has a doctoral degree in computer forensics.

Sun Dong, secretary for innovation, technology and industry of the HKSAR government, led a delegation of government representatives, sci-tech experts and students on a visit to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to attend a send-off ceremony for the Shenzhou XXIII crew.