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Following is a translation of the speech by Assistant Postmaster General (Business Development), Mr Dan Choi, at "2006 International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People (Hong Kong Contest)" - Award Presentation Ceremony today (June 1):
Hon Cheung Man-kwong, winners, distinguished guests and friends from the media,
Welcome to the "2006 International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People (Hong Kong Contest)" Award Presentation Ceremony.
I am delighted to see so many young people present here. This year, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) has organised the International Letter-Writing Competition with the theme of "I am writing to tell you how the postal service helps me connect with the world." Hongkong Post has also kicked off the Hong Kong Contest in support of the UPU. Special thanks are extended to the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) for its cordial support and assistance to make the competition a success. We hope that through the competition, young people will experience the joy of letter communication and choose it as a way to connect with the world and let us exhibit the spirit of our purpose statement, "Linking People".
Established 165 years ago, Hongkong Post enjoys a proud heritage and a long history of serving as a link between people and delivering messages for them. The theme chosen for this year's competition can stimulate youngsters' awareness of the important role postal service plays in our society. It can also raise their interest in letter communication by forming a habit, so as to foster better relationship among people.
This year, we received a favourable response from schools and students. Nearly 3,000 entries from around 100 primary and secondary schools were received. It is very encouraging to obtain such a good response when email and ICQ are prevalent in today's world. I am glad to see that many students are still willing to write with ink and paper instead of huddling around a computer screen for short messages.
The entries feature a variety of characters being chosen by the participants as their senders and recipients - ranging from the Monkey King Sun Wukong and Santa Claus to sponsored children in developing countries, all of which reflect the wonderful creativity of youngsters. The nature of the letters covers a wide spectrum, including touching letters to relatives, encouraging letters to children and even invitation letters to visit postal administrations. Nevertheless, all letters share a common element of human touch. As the grand champion mentioned in her letter: "There are some things that we cannot send by emails. That's right, it's human touch." The champion of the Chinese group also stated in his entry that postal service was a goodwill ambassador. We should make use of it to show our care or convey our warm regards to the people around us, thus our life will be more enriched.
I am sure that all participants enjoy letter-writing and have expressed themselves freely in their letters. However, it is no easy task for our panel judges to assess the entries. This year, we are honoured to invite Dr Philip Benson from the Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Ms Junia Ho, member of the SCOLAR, Professor Sin Chow-yiu from the Department of Chinese, The University of Hong Kong and Mr Simon Tham from the Curriculum Development Institute, Education and Manpower Bureau to be members of the judging panel. We are grateful to our event ambassador Ms Karena Lam for her support of the event. We must also express our heartfelt thanks to Mr Cheung for attending this ceremony and presenting awards to our winners despite his tight schedule. It is indeed a great encouragement to our students.
Finally, I sincerely hope that our pillars of the future society will be encouraged to keep in touch with their faraway relatives and share their feeling by writing. Hongkong Post will demonstrate the spirit of our Corporate Statement - "Linking People" by delivering letters to the recipients' hands, wherever they are.
Thank you.
Ends/Thursday, June 1, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:17
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