Press Release - April 19, 2003

To plead their full support to Hong Kong's selfless medical and healthcare workers who have been working flat out to combat the spread of the atypical pneumonia in the city, hundreds of Hong Kongers in Montreal started a "Signature and Well Wishes" campaign this (April 19) afternoon at 8080 Taschereau Blvd, Parkland, Brossard, to gather messages of encouragement and pictures as a token of their gratitude for Hong Kong's "Frontline Heroes".

The event, initiated and organized by the Radio Chinoise de L'Amerique du Nord and a group of Hong Kong belongers and supporters in Montreal, aims to convey their full support to, and highest admiration for, the healthcare professionals in their mother city. Since the outbreak of atypical pneumonia in March, the healthcare professionals in Hong Kong have been working extremely hard to take care of SARS patients. In the process, many of them unfortunately were also infected by the disease.

Welcoming the event, the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Canada) (HKETO), Mrs Rosanna Ure, said: "We are truly grateful to their support and their concern for our medical and nursing staff.

"The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is mobilizing all resources to fight the disease. By strengthening preventive measures, stepping up checks at airport and border control points, providing the best medical care and treatments and working very closely with the World Health Organisation and the international scientific community, we hope to be able to contain the spread of the disease very soon."

The campaign will continue tomorrow (April 20) from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Parkland. It will also be held next weekend (April 26 and 27) from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Park in Chinatown, Montreal.

Signatures and messages collected from the campaign will be sent to the HKETO for onward transmission to Hong Kong.


For more information, please contact: John Tam, Chief Information Officer of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at: (416) 924-5544 or email: [email protected] or Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, [email protected].

At the start of "Signature and Well Wishes" campaign this (April 19) afternoon, Hong Kong belongers and supporters in Montreal plead their support to Hong Kong's selfless medical and healthcare workers who have been working flat out to combat the atypical pneumonia.