(Bloomberg) — In the latest sign that China President Xi Jinping will soon be making his first trip outside of the mainland in years, a Hong Kong school is asking some of its students to undergo a week-long hotel quarantine to greet visiting dignitaries for the city’s 25th anniversary of the city’s handover to China on July 1.
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The HKFEW Wong Cho Bau School informed parents on Thursday that its primary students had been invited to “rare honorable missions” that include attending a ceremony on June 30 to welcome unidentified visitors at the airport, as well as an event the following day to send them off, according to a copy of the notice seen by Bloomberg. Meals, transportation and quarantine expenses will be paid by the Hong Kong government, according to the note.
Vice-Principal Chan Lai-ha confirmed the authenticity of the notice and said students will be accompanied by teachers to undergo hotel quarantine from June 23 and isolated students will attend classes via Zoom. Chan didn’t say how many students signed up and said she didn’t know who the students will be greeting at the airport.
Though government officials have refused to say who’s coming, expectations are growing that Xi, who hasn’t traveled outside of mainland China since January 2020, will be making a trip to Hong Kong soon and deliver a speech for the anniversary. Hong Kong is preparing to isolate about 1,000 people — including Chief Executive-elect John Lee and his predecessor Carrie Lam — ahead of the anniversary to create a closed-loop system for an unspecified Chinese state leader, the South China Morning Post reported earlier.
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