Press Release - June 16, 2007

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, this year’s Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival has introduced a special “Hong Kong 10th Anniversary Cup” Race, which is being held over this weekend.

According to the organizers, the two-day event is expected to draw over 125,000 people to Toronto’s Centre Island. About 180 teams with over 5,000 paddlers are competing for the “Hong Kong 10th Anniversary Cup” and the Grand Championship at the Festival.

At today’s opening ceremony, the Director of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (Canada), Mr Bassanio So, said he was very pleased to support this special race, which reflected the well-respected “Hong Kong Can-do Spirit” and the resilience of the Hong Kong people.

He said: “Over the past 10 years, Hong Kong has enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, as stipulated in the Basic Law. We have encountered many challenges, but we have successfully dealt with them with our ‘Can-do’ spirit. We have also strengthened our status as Asia’s world city and world’s major financial centre.”

Apart from the “Hong Kong 10th Anniversary Cup” Race, a preview of an exhibition entitled “Five Decades under the Lion Rock – Courage, Aspiration & a Prosperous Future” featuring a collection of photographs taken by Hong Kong and Canadian photographers in Hong Kong during the last 50 years is also held at the Festival.
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For further information, please contact:
Stephen Siu, Assistant Director (Public Relations), Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (Canada) at Tel: 416-924-5425, e-mail: [email protected]; or Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, at Tel: 416-924-5544, e-mail: [email protected].

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in Canada, Mr Bassanio So (centre), presenting an autographed paddle to Mr Ralph Hui (left), President of the Toronto Chinese Business Association, an organizer of the Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival, and Ms Benny Cheung, the Festival Chair, at the opening ceremony to signify the start of the “Hong Kong 10th Anniversary Cup” Race.

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