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A stamp sheetlet will be issued on May 27 to commemorate Hongkong Post's participation in the Washington 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition.
Under the patronage of the Federation Internationale de Philatelie, the exhibition explores the themes, "Role of the Post Office in Uniting the Country", "Children - They Are The Future" and "Moving the Mail in the 21st Century". This international stamp exhibition will be held in Washington DC, in the US, from May 27 to June 3.
The Postmaster General, Mr Allan Chiang, said the three themes were combined in the $10 stamp sheetlet. Children holding hands in their ethnic costumes, doves carrying letters in their beaks and shapes decorated with serrated edges allude to postal services connecting millions of people around the world. The bauhinia and the American Beauty rose, the floral emblems of Hong Kong and Washington DC, highlight the good rapport between the two cities.
The children's motif recurs in the First Day Cover design together with the official logo of the exhibition in the bottom corner. The serviced First Day Cover is affixed with one stamp sheetlet and datestamped with a special postmark together with the cachet impression and will be available for $13.50. A Presentation Pack with one stamp sheetlet will be on sale for $18.
"At Hongkong Post, we take great pride in our stamp products, which are renowned for their originality and their quality," Mr Chiang said. "These stamps recognise another world-class postal service and demonstrate the good relations between postal administrations worldwide. This special stamp issue embraces three distinct themes, conveying the idea of the postal service fulfilling its mission of connecting people at home and abroad, now and in the future."
The stamp sheetlet is designed by Mr Benny Lau and printed in lithography by Cartor Security Printing, France.
The stamp sheetlet will be displayed at the General Post Office and Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin Central post offices from May 6. Official First Day Covers at $1 each will go on sale at all post offices on the same day. Advance orders for servicing self-provided souvenir covers will be accepted at 39 philatelic offices from May 6-12.
A special postmark and a cachet will also be introduced to commemorate the event. A hand-back datestamping service for the special postmark will be provided for official and privately-made covers bearing the first day of issue indication and a local address at all post offices and at the exhibition venue on May 27, the opening day of the event.
The "GPO-1" postmark, the "Philatelic Bureau" pictorial postmark and the philatelic office pictorial postmarks will also be available for hand-back datestamping service at all philatelic offices on that day. The cachet will be available for application on covers at the exhibition venue and all philatelic offices during normal office hours throughout the exhibition period.
On May 27, the public hall of the Hongkong Post Philatelic Bureau will open from 9am to 1pm for datestamping covers with the "Philatelic Bureau" pictorial postmark, the "GPO-1" postmark, the special postmark and the cachet.
Further information about this issue and the sale of associated philatelic products can be obtained from Hongkong Post's website at www.hongkongpost.com, at any post office, or by calling the Hongkong Post Philatelic Bureau hotline 2785 5711.
Ends/Monday, April 24, 2006
Issued at HKT 10:00
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