HONG KONG -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), congratulated Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, on becoming the city's first astronaut to join a national space mission, expressing pride in her historic achievement, according to a social media post on Sunday.

Lee, joined by two senior HKSAR government officials, recently held a video call with Lai ahead of the Shenzhou?XXIII crewed spaceflight mission.

During the call, Lee learned about Lai's life at the training center and extended best wishes for the success of her space mission.

Acknowledging the rigorous training, Lai pledged to do her utmost to complete the flight, according to the post.

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.