Press Release - August 19, 2003

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) and the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), are pleased to announce the launch of the Dateline Hong Kong Fellowship 2003. Interested journalists are invited to apply before September 30.

The sixth annual working fellowship for Canadian journalists since the scheme was first launched in 1997, the 2003 fellowship is for working journalists in Canada to acquaint themselves with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People�s Republic of China.

Two fellowships are to be awarded and winners will travel to Hong Kong before the end of March 2004. The package offered includes a business class return air ticket between Canada and Hong Kong, six nights� hotel accommodation inclusive of taxes, service charges and breakfast and round trip airport transfer. Funding for the 2003 fellowship will come from the HKSAR Government. In addition to visiting places of interest, winners will be able to meet people of diverse views and cultural background, such as Canadian business people, politicians and senior government officials.

To apply, each applicant must include a resume, a written proposal laying out what is to be achieved, and a written statement of support, including a letter of intent from the editor/producer to broadcast/publish stories/articles in the respective newspaper, magazine, radio or television station. The proposal can concentrate on any area of life in Hong Kong, including, but not limited to, business, trade, politics, infrastructure development, IT, tourism, housing, education, culture and environment.

Neither the HKSAR Government nor the CAJ will have any control over or rights to the work of the participants in the fellowship. Applications must reach the Canadian Association of Journalists, 1385 Woodroffe Ave. B-224, Ottawa, ON K2G 1V8 by Tuesday, September 30. A panel of three judges appointed by the Canadian Association of Journalists will select the winners. The result will be announced in October 2003.

Inviting interested journalists to apply, the HKETO Acting Director, Mr Kenneth Cheng, said: �This is a golden opportunity for working journalists to visit post-SARS Hong Kong to see how quickly our dynamic city has recovered from the SARS fallouts and how we are moving forward vigorously to relaunch our economy.

�As the freest economy in the world and a vibrant and sophisticated international financial and trading center in the Pearl River Delta Region, Hong Kong is the natural gateway to new economic opportunities in the Mainland of China and the rest of Asia, an international center for arts and culture and a preferred tourist destination. I urge interested journalists not to miss this opportunity of seeing for themselves Hong Kong - Asia�s world city.�

The CAJ President, Mr Paul Schneidereit, said: �This opportunity is perfect for any journalist who wants to learn more, first-hand, about one of the world�s most politically- and culturally-intriguing cities.�

Applicants for the 2003 fellowship must be members, in good standing, of the CAJ at the time of application. Membership forms are available from the CAJ national office or available at the CAJ website: www.caj.ca.

For more details of the Dateline Hong Kong Fellowship 2003, please visit the HKETO website: www.hketo.ca or the Canadian Association of Journalists website at www.caj.ca.


For more information, please contact John Tam, Chief Information Officer of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at: 416-924-5544, e-mail: [email protected] or John Dickins, Canadian Association of Journalists, at 613-526-8061, e-mail: [email protected].