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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the "Hong Kong ¡ª A City Where East Meets West" Gala Reception in Los Angeles today (January 26, local time):
Mayor Villaraigosa, Consuls General, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening.
It is a pleasure to be here in the beautiful city of Los Angeles and to celebrate the Chinese New Year with you. Allow me to be among the first to wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous "Year of the Ox".
This is an important time for Chinese people around the world. It is a time for families to get together and share a special meal. It is a time to renew old friendships and make new ones. It is a time to enjoy the cultural events of the season. And it is a time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the new one.
Let's hope the "Year of the Ox" will be kinder to our global economy than the "Rat" has been.
We like to call Hong Kong "Asia's world city", so it is fitting that dancers from two cultural groups from Los Angeles are in Hong Kong today. They are performing at the annual Chinese New Year Night Parade, which is a highlight of our New Year celebrations.
As a multi-cultural city in the heart of East Asia, we believe strongly in the benefits of cultural exchange and co-operation.
In addition to our many home-grown performing arts groups, Hong Kong hosts numerous international cultural events each year. They include Le French May, Hong Kong Arts Festival, International Arts Carnival and Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Hong Kong audiences were thrilled by the long-awaited debut of the Los Angeles Philharmonic last year. The orchestra played two unique performances that will be remembered in our city for many years to come. I am also delighted that the talented Laurel Ensemble - which we just heard - will be in Hong Kong this year. They will perform at the 2009 Musicarama Festival in November.
Here in this magnificent venue, I can't help thinking about the exciting prospects for Hong Kong's cultural scene.
Although we don't have a performing arts venue on this scale yet, we do have plans for one. More specifically we are in the advanced planning phase for a massive cultural district with a variety of venues and leisure facilities. We expect the main venues to be completed by 2015.
The government will provide a US$2.6 billion upfront endowment for the project. This is a huge commitment for us, especially during these fragile economic times. However, we must remain focused on our long-term goals for Hong Kong, even during the global financial crisis.
For us, an important part of the game-plan means establishing our city as a cultural hub in Asia. The cultural district along our harbourfront in West Kowloon will be a world-class integrated arts, cultural and entertainment area. When completed, it will feature 15 performing arts venues, including theatres, a concert hall and a centre for Cantonese opera and other traditional Chinese opera performances.
There will also be piazza areas for outdoor performances, a new concept museum, a large exhibition centre, galleries and restaurants.
Creative minds in Hong Kong and around the world are working on iconic designs for the main venues. It is a unique opportunity to build a world-class cultural district starting from a blank page. As the project develops we will be looking to tap international expertise, including here in Los Angeles to make the most of this opportunity. Design is one area, but we would also like to hear your views on management, marketing, cultural education and how best to keep the venues as vibrant as possible all year round.
Although we are a small city with a population of just seven million, we receive tens of millions of visitors each year. Last year, more than 29 million people made the trip to Hong Kong.
Many of our visitors come to experience our wide variety of entertainment in a safe, welcoming and bustling environment. As the theme of this Reception suggests, Hong Kong is a city where East meets West. This is reflected in all aspects of our citylife from our restaurants and shops to our places of worship and, of course, cultural activities.
We are also attracting more MICE visitors, that is, business people who come for meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions.
As well as being a city in China, Hong Kong is within five hours flying time of half the world's population. We have a great location for bringing together business people from across the globe and across our nation to share knowledge and expertise and do what they do best ¡ª business.
Hong Kong's MICE sector has matured in recent years. This is in parallel with our emergence as a global centre for finance, trade and logistics as well as tourism.
In 2008, to give our tourism and MICE sectors an extra boost, we waived the hotel accommodation tax. We also scrapped duties on wine and beer, which - as you can imagine - went down well with many people in Hong Kong and many of our visitors too.
In scrapping wine duties, Hong Kong became the first free wine port among major economies. But this is more than about making wine and beer a little more affordable. Our aim is to develop Hong Kong into a major wine storage and distribution hub in Asia. In the past year we have staged a number of high-profile wine auctions. A sale by US auction house Acker Merrall & Condit fetched an impressive US$8.2 million. Also, the first Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair last August attracted some 240 exhibitors from over 25 countries, including the US.
The development of wine-related business in Hong Kong has included tailoring customs procedures to the trade. We have stepped up investment and promotion activities as well as training and education. And we have come up with some new ideas for heritage sites for wine-related activities.
For many people, fine wine and great food go hand-in-hand. Last year, Hong Kong - together with our neighbours in Macao - became the first city in China to be included in the prestigious Michelin Guide series. It includes more than 200 restaurants and hotels in Hong Kong with 22 of them receiving one or more of the coveted Michelin stars.
So the next time you pay us a visit, it will be a little easier to choose where to eat from over 9 000 restaurants in the city.
Ladies and gentlemen, similar to Los Angeles, Hong Kong is a melting pot of cultures. People from all corners of the globe have settled in our city. We celebrate cultural diversity, embrace our personal freedoms and encourage community spirit.
Hong Kong enters the Year of the Ox full of confidence for the future. We are fully confident of weathering the global financial crisis; we are confident about our long-term future as a global business and financial centre in China and we are confident that - by sticking firmly to our game-plan - we can look forward to a bright future.
The people of Los Angeles have been great supporters of Hong Kong in the past. I am sure we will enjoy even stronger relations in the years to come.
Once again, I wish you all a happy and prosperous Year of the Ox.
As we say at this time of year in Hong Kong: Kung Hei Fat Choy.
Ends/Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:05
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