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Following is a translation of the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, at the opening of "Hong Kong: Creative Ecologies - Business, Living, Creativity" exhibition in Shanghai today (May 15):
Victor (Chairman of the Hong Kong Design Centre), Mr Tu (Vice Mayor of Shanghai), Kai-yin (Chief Curator of the Hong Kong Design Centre), Ladies and Gentlemen,
Hello, everybody!
I am glad to be here in Shanghai to witness for myself the opening of the "Hong Kong: Creative Ecologies - Business, Living, Creativity" exhibition, which has been organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre, and will span a period of some five months.
This morning I went to the Expo park and visited the China Pavilion, the Hong Kong Pavilion and other pavilions. With its grand outlook and rich exhibits, the China Pavilion holds the centre stage of the entire Expo. As for Hong Kong's Urban Best Practices Area exhibition, its focus on smart cards amply illustrates the characteristics of "showing grandeur while being compact". Indeed, it is an exhibition that manifests Hong Kong's uniqueness: open, diverse, enterprising, extensive use of advanced technology to enhance the quality and efficiency of city life.
On this occasion, in making an all out effort to participate in the Expo, Hong Kong hopes to strengthen exchanges and co-operation with overseas countries and the Mainland through the platform provided by the Expo.
This exhibition will last for over five months and showcase to Mainland and global visitors the ecologies and dynamism of Hong Kong's creative industries, so that they will understand how Hong Kong has evolved into the creative capital of Asia. In the past, Hong Kong was a base for entrepot trade and manufacturing goods, but it is not by chance that Hong Kong transformed into the creative capital and centre of services industry that it is today. Being the melting-pot of Eastern and Western cultures, Hong Kong has all the attributes of an open, accommodating and diverse city. In addition, Hong Kong is a leading hub in the region in terms of mobility of manpower, merchandise, knowledge and information.
This exhibition will introduce Hong Kong's excellent designers, design enterprises and brands, and showcase Hong Kong's creativity through examples of success. On top of this, we have invited a number of rising stars in the design trade and made known their infinite creativity by means of joint creative works. Apart from the present exhibition, the organiser will also hold a series of seminars, workshops and conduct tours on Shanghai's creative culture to promote co-operation and exchanges between the creative industries in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
In addition to our support for the Hong Kong Design Centre to hold the present exhibition, the Hong Kong SAR Government has also subsidised Hong Kong organisations in the creative industries to hold the "Shanghai Expo x Creative Ecologies Study Tour". Through the programme, close to 100 Hong Kong youths will visit Shanghai. They will conduct exchanges with Shanghai bodies and institutes in the creativity industries to facilitate better knowledge about creative ecologies in Shanghai and Hong Kong and to explore co-operation between the two places. They will act as volunteer workers at Hong Kong's Urban Best Practices Area exhibition offering briefings on Hong Kong to visitors.
Finally, I am deeply thankful to the Hong Kong Design Centre and the organiser Ms Lo Kai-yin, for their dedication that has made possible this exhibition. I wish citizens of Shanghai and visitors will seize upon this golden opportunity to visit this exhibition and know first hand Hong Kong's creative ecologies. Meanwhile, we shall not miss out on the two exhibitions underpinning Hong Kong's participation in the Expo: the Hong Kong Pavilion on Pudong side, and Hong Kong's Urban Best Practices Area exhibition on Puxi side.
I hereby wish every success to the "Hong Kong: Creative Ecologies - Business, Living, Creativity" exhibition.
Thank you.
Ends/Saturday, May 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 20:05
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