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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York unveiled a host of celebration events to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) with the visit of the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr. Frederick Ma, today (Friday, April 20 New York time).
Mr Ma was in New York to promote Hong Kong as an international financial centre and the gateway to China. He told 400 luncheon guests of the 16th Annual Conference of the Committee of 100 how Hong Kong had progressed in the past ten years and introduced to the audience the advantages of Hong Kong as an international financial centre and China’s prime international capital formation centre.
The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York, Monica Chen, said, “We are honoured to have Secretary Ma in town at this historic moment to speak to the New York audience the successful implementation of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’.”
“In order to mark the special occasion and to get across the message to a wider audience, our office has lined up a wide array of activities to be held from April to October, the highlight of which will be a cocktail reception cum cultural performance and exhibition in end June. More than 300 office contacts from the finance, business, political and academic sectors as well as media representatives will be invited to join us in our celebration.”
In addition, the office will join hands with prominent professional bodies and academic institutions in New York to organise two seminars to review Hong Kong’s past challenges and success and to look ahead.
On the cultural side, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festivals across the US will feature 10th anniversary races in honour of the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR. The four Dragon Boat Festivals will be held in Miami, Boston, New York and Atlanta in the months of May, June, August and September respectively.
“These dragon boat festivals have become annual signature Hong Kong events which attract thousands of spectators and participants. We are glad to have the opportunities to celebrate the special occasion of the 10th anniversary with the general public in these cities through such interesting and energetic competitions,” Ms Chen said.
There will also be film events at the Cinematek of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Film Society of Lincoln Center in August and October respectively to introduce to movie goers a diverse spectrum of Hong Kong films.
“We hope our friends in the US will share our joy in this uniquely memorable occasion and learn more about Hong Kong, ten years after the handover, through the above events,” Ms Chen concluded.
Ends/Saturday, April 21, 2007
Issued at HKT 10:22
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