Canada Celebrates HKSAR’s 10th Anniversary

Canadians will mark the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with business, cultural, sports and educational events, displays, receptions and galas. 

A Bauhinia Gala, organized by the Chinese community in the Greater Toronto Area, will be held on June 15 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. 

The Director of the HKETO in Canada, Mr Bassanio So, thanked the Centre for Information and Community Service of Ontario for spearheading the gala along with many other community groups. "The 'Bauhinia Gala', with its theme '9+2', signifies the close economic integration between Hong Kong, the nine provinces in southern China and Macao,” he said. 

The music of new Hong Kong resident and piano prodigy Lang Lang set the scene for a series of events in several major Canadian cities. Among these is a national business forum of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association to be held in Toronto April 23. The theme: "A Winning Strategy for Canada: Hong Kong & Fujian", showcasing business opportunities in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region. 

"The closer economic integration between Hong Kong and Mainland China has created numerous opportunities not only for business people in that part of the world, but also for many Canadian companies," explained Mr. So. "Fujian Province, right at the juncture of China's most economically developed areas, is an integral part of China’s regional economic development strategy.” 

The forum is supported by the HKETO, Invest Hong Kong, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, and Chinese business associations in Ontario, as well as trade and economic development organizations of the three levels of the government.

According to Mr So other activities will take place across the country which includes the proclamation of a “Hong Kong Week” by the City of Edmonton in mid-March, featuring "A Touch of Hong Kong" Gala, a Canada-Hong Kong business forum, a Hong Kong film festival, and the "Five Decades Under the Lion Rock - Courage, Aspiration and a Prosperous Future" photo exhibition. 

The photo exhibition, developed jointly between the HKETO and the Chinese Canadian Photographic Society of Toronto, will tour seven other Canadian cities.

Other events include a Hong Kong City Choir performance in Toronto, a selection of Hong Kong Films 10 Years After the Handover presented by the Asian Institute of the University of Toronto, a performance by the Orient Dance Company, the Hong Kong Cup Race at the Toronto International Dragon Boat Festival and Hong Kong Film Nights presented by the HKETO during Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

In addition, the HKETO will host receptions in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa.

Mr. So said that all the anniversary activities "will highlight Hong Kong’s vigour and vitality, as well as how we have successfully maintained the city as Asia’s world city and a leading trading and financial centre."

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