Posted in: Press Releases

January 4th, 2006

To strengthen Hong Kong�s cultural ties with Vancouver and promote Asia�s world city�s heritage to the Canadian community, the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (Canada) (HKETO) and the Canadian Cancer Society of British Columbia and Yukon (CCS), today (Wednesday) jointly announced a four-day event � �Hong Kong Cultural & Heritage Celebrations� � to be held during the Chinese New Year period in Vancouver.

The �Hong Kong Cultural & Heritage Celebrations� is presented by the HKETO in association with the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and organized by CCS.

The highlights of the Hong Kong celebrations are Wushu (martial arts) and Cantonese Opera performances at the Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts on February 4 and 5. Other events featured include a Chinese New Year dinner at Chinatown Floata Restaurant on February 2 and a two-week Hong Kong Heritage Exhibition at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver scheduled to be opened on February 2.

Led by Hong Kong�s Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Patrick Ho, with former Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Ms Shelley Lee, as honorary deputy leader, the 70-member delegation will fly in from Hong Kong as the city�s Goodwill Ambassadors to send their greetings to the people in Vancouver.

�Following the great success of a Wushu performance in 2004 in Calgary and a Cantonese opera performance in Montreal in 2002, we are delighted to bring these two groups of performers to Vancouver to demonstrate to Canadians Hong Kong�s vibrancy and sophistication as Asia�s world city through the beauty and artistry of their performances,� said Mr Bassanio So, the Director of the HKETO at today�s press conference. He thanked the participation of the Hong Kong Wushu Union and Hong Kong Cantonese Opera in this Vancouver event.

�To strengthen our relationship with Vancouver, and as a gesture of goodwill, we are pleased to turn over the net proceeds from these two performances to the Canadian Cancer Society,� he said.

Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister of Canada, the Honourable Stephen Owen, Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State (Sport), thanked the Hong Kong SAR Government for presenting the event in Vancouver, and described it as a significant move in reinforcing the �long-standing good relations� between Hong Kong and Canada. �Apart from our strong economic and trade links, we are now building up our cultural links.�

In a letter to the organizers, Mayor Sam Sullivan of Vancouver, said that the Hong Kong celebrations �will make an impact on people living with cancer in our community.�

The gala performance will be held at the Centre in Vancouver on February 4 (Saturday) at 7:30 p.m., and a matinee will be held the following day at 2:30 p.m. The matinee is targeted at the younger population, and students will be invited to take part as a cultural exchange program. Well-known Hong Kong Cantonese Opera performers Ng Chin-fung, Wong Chiu-kwan and Chan Kim-sing will be delivering two opera excerpts, namely and to their Vancouver audience. The dazzling Cantonese opera portion of the program will last about an hour.

In addition, about 30 young elites of Hong Kong Wushu Union � many of them Hong Kong�s champion Wushu athletes and medal winners of the recent Asian Games and international Wushu competitions — including renowned World Championship winner Ms Li Fai, will come to Vancouver for the good cause, and join the second half of the performances. People in Vancouver will have a unique opportunity to witness this ancient Asian martial arts form in a spectacular format. Their action-packed performances include Taichi, swordplay, spearplay, bare-handed exercises, and different styles of �quan� (Chinese boxing), etc.

Prior to the joint Wushu-Cantonese opera performances, a fascinating exhibition entitled �Hong Kong�s Cultural Heritage: A History of 6,000 Years� will be opened at the Chinese Cultural Centre on February 2 at 4 p.m. Presenting a glimpse of Hong Kong�s heritage from the Neolithic Period, the Bronze Age, to the Qing Dynasty and the Hong Kong under British rule, the exhibition will help enhance Canadians� understanding of and interest in the history and culture of Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) will organize the “Culture & Heritage Celebration - 18 days of Chinese Festivals” in Hong Kong in April and May this year. Unique activities and events such as Temple Market, Buddhism ceremonies, kung fu performances by Shaolin little monks, Buddhist retreat, float parade, bun scrambling competition & carnival, etc�. will be staged during the period.

To complement the events in Vancouver & Hong Kong, the HKTB will give away a trip for two to visit the �18 days of Chinese Festivals” in Hong Kong. A Hong Kong tourism display will also be held in Vancouver. The HKTB will announce more details later.

Tickets for the Chinese New Year dinner, which is also a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, are priced at $38 per person, while the tickets for the joint Wushu-Cantonese opera performances are at $98 (VIP), $58 and $38. For ticket enquiries, please call the CCS at (604)708-8818.

For more information, please contact: Stephen Siu, Assistant Director (Public Relations) of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at: (416)924-5544 or email: [email protected], or Catherine Yuen, Principal Consultant (Western Canada), at (604)331-1300.

Click here to download a Chinese version of this press release in PDF format.