Press Release - September 5, 2002

Hong Kong will give a cultural treat to the art-craving community of Montreal in a bid to further strengthen the friendship, mutual understanding and cultural exchanges between the two places.

The cultural treat will be in a form of a major promotion entitled �A Cultural Rendezvous with Hong Kong�, which the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Canada), the official representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in Canada, will be organizing from October 2 to October 15 at Place des Arts in the city.

The promotion is specially designed to suit the art-loving Montreal community. It comprises a performance of a 1000-year old performing art - Cantonese opera - and an exhibition of nostalgic and modern photographs to depict the life of Hong Kong from the 50�s to the present days.

Cantonese opera is a performing art that could be dated back to the Tang dynasty of Emperor Ming Huang (712-755 AD). Its colorful and shimmering costumes, dazzling headdress and ornaments, graceful and expressive movements make it a highly artistic performance. Based on Chinese history and famous Chinese classical works, the themes of the opera performance generally revolve around moral values such as loyalty, filial piety, patriotism and faithfulness.

�As Asia�s world city, Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan place where �East meets West�, which is reflected in its way of life and the way it conducts business. The fusion of both Western and Chinese cultures has made Hong Kong a unique place and we hope that by presenting �A Cultural Rendezvous with Hong Kong�, our Canadian friends can share with us Hong Kong�s culture and heritage, as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the city,� said Mrs Rosanna Ure, the Director of the HKETO today (September 5) at a press conference held in Montreal.

Announcing the details of the promotion, Mrs Ure said: � �A Cultural Rendezvous with Hong Kong� will start with the opening of the photo exhibition, to be followed by a spectacular Cantonese opera performance �An Enchanting Evening of Cantonese Opera� by Canada (JKW) Music & Arts Centre on October 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Cinquieme Salle.�

She said that three stories featured at the performance are adapted from classical Chinese works. They are �The Tragedy of Princess Cheung Ping�, �The Tale of the White Dragon Gorge� and �The Romance of the Goddess Yuen in the Ninth Heaven�.

Box office for the Cantonese opera performance on October 2 is opened today. Tickets are available at Place des Arts ticketing office http://www.pdarts.com at $25, $20 and $15 for seniors and students.

To enable the Montreal community to better understand the culture and heritage of Hong Kong, a nostalgic and modern photo exhibition depicting the transformation and development of Hong Kong over the past 50 years will be on public display at Pas perdus corridor of Place des Arts Pas from October 3 to October 15. Entitled �Living in Hong Kong � Past and Present�, the unique collection of some 80 movie stills taken from films produced in Hong Kong in the 50s and the current photos reflect the development of the city in four aspects : �Dressing�, �Eating�, �Living� and �Commuting�. The exhibition was very well received when it was exhibited in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

At the press conference, Mrs Ure also introduced to the media Hong Kong�s new global brand identity which was launched by the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at the Fortune Global Forum held in Hong Kong in May 2001. It has been launched in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary earlier on.

The new visual identity, a stylized dragon with the slogan "Asia's world city", encapsulates Hong Kong's image as one of the world's most cosmopolitan and vibrant cities, reflects the rich culture and unique heritage of Hong Kong. While the flowing lines of the dragon mirror Chinese calligraphy, the dragon incorporates the letters 'H' and 'K' and the Chinese characters for Hong Kong. The visual identity's dynamic and contemporary rendering captures Hong Kong's passion to be daring and innovative, and a can-do approach towards bringing visionary ideas to life. For more information about the Brand Hong Kong, please visit
http://www.brandhk.gov.hk/brandhk/eindex.htm


For further information, please contact John Tam, Chief Information Officer at (416)924-5544, email [email protected] or Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, [email protected] or Jules Nadeau, Project Consultant at (514)354-2643 or email [email protected]