Press Release - August 25, 2005

The western Canadian city of Calgary is celebrating Hong Kong Day this weekend with a series of activities, which will feature Hong Kong as a land of opportunities for Canadian businesses and a city of vibrant culture.

Mayor Dave Bronconnier of Calgary has proclaimed August 28 as Hong Kong Day to recognize �what a contribution this (Hong Kong) community makes to the Canadian fabric.� About 10 per cent of the Calgary population is of Asian descent, and many came from Hong Kong. According to Richard Gotfried of the Hong Kong Day Organizing Committee, this is the first time Calgary has set aside an entire weekend for Hong Kong celebrations.

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (HKETO) in Canada, Mr Bassanio So, who will be officiating at some of these celebrations, described it as an �extremely friendly gesture� by the Calgarians. �It�ll help enhance the business and friendly ties between the two places,� he said.

�We have a strong presence of the Hong Kong community and Hong Kong investments in Calgary,� Mr So said. �Our encounters with Calgary companies indicate many of them are interested in using Hong Kong as the bridgehead in launching their business in China.�

The Hong Kong promotion will kick off Friday with a business seminar jointly presented by the HKETO, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Calgary section of the Hong Kong Canada Business Association, in association with the Alberta Economic Development, and the Calgary Economic Development. The presentations will be held at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce in the morning with one-on-one sessions afterwards.

The Deputy Director of the HKETO, Mr Francis Ho, will speak on the �Business Opportunities for Canadian Companies in Hong Kong and China�. Other speakers include the Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr Andrew Yui, and Vice President of the Calgary Economic Development, Mr Clark Gruce.

The Hong Kong activities will be highlighted by a Chinatown Street Festival whole day on Saturday, and Hong Kong Fireworks on Sunday night. The street festival will celebrate the culture, food and people of Hong Kong. The colourful �Brand Hong Kong� kites will be used to decorate the venue, which covers a couple of streets in the Chinatown. An exhibition on �Living in Hong Kong � Past and Present�, depicting life in Hong Kong under the themes of �Dressing�, �Eating�, �Living� and �Commuting� over the last 50 years will be displayed at the festival. The HKETO will also put up a photographic display featuring the vitality of Hong Kong at the Epcor Centre�s �Spirit of Asia� Cultural Pavilion.

Sunday marks the finale of the Hong Kong weekend, with the Asia�s world city being represented in the GlobalFest Fireworks Competition at Elliston Park. A team from Hong Kong will unveil their brand new extravagant 23-minute �pyromusical� fireworks production to compete with fireworks presentations from United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain.

Hong Kong Day is a partnership among the HKETO, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), GlobalFest, the Glenbow Festival, Totem Building Supplies, and Trico Homes. To mark the event, the HKTB, together with the United Airlines and Jade Tours, also organize a contest for a dream vacation to Hong Kong.



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 Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, [email protected]

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