Press Release - January 31, 2003


The following is the Lunar New Year message (translation) from the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Tung Chee Hwa:

Fellow citizens,

The Spring Festival is always a time for reunions, when relatives return home from near and far to share the joy of spending time with family and friends.
Although we all have our own families, we are also members of one big family - the community of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is home for every one of us who lives here.

Families thrive on harmony. I hope every citizen can enjoy a harmonious family life during this festive season, and throughout the rest of the year. And I share this wish particularly for our home - Hong Kong.

At the moment, Hong Kong is coping with the challenges of economic restructuring, while also trying to resolve the fiscal deficit issue as well as deal with uncertainties in the global arena. But we must not lose heart.

Our efforts over the past few years to revive our economy are beginning to bear fruit and have laid a solid foundation for future development. Hard work never fails to pay off. We have seen encouraging new heights set in our tourism, logistics and other sectors last year. More importantly, my Policy Address has mapped out a clear direction for economic revival, which has won wide public recognition and support. In the months to come, you will see a series of initiatives implemented and yielding results.

The advent of the Year of the Ram signifies a new beginning, heralding new hope and promise. Hong Kong has a promising future because it has a clear direction forward, a solid foundation built over the years, and irreplaceable strengths. We have every reason to welcome the new year with a well-founded hope.

Spring is also a time for hard work. As long as we seize this opportune moment, and devote extra effort to sow the new soil of economic restructuring, our future harvest will surely be splendid.

I am confident that the concerted efforts of the Government and the entire community will open up a new horizon for Hong Kong in the coming year. My wife and I would like to wish every member of our community a happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Ram.

Ends.