COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA
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and leading Japanese businessmen. He also officiated at the opening of the 19th plenary session of the Hong Kong/Japan and Japan/Hong Kong Business Co-operation Committees and delivered a keynote speech at a business seminar held in Tokyo.
Singapore
Led by the Financial Secretary, a 60-strong delegation comprising leading businessmen visited Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok in May. While in Singapore, Mr Tsang officiated at the opening ceremony of the HKETO and the Hong Kong Tourist Office at Suntec City.
Mr Tsang met the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Goh Chok Tong; the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Dr Amnuay Viravan; and other senior officials and leading businessmen of the three countries. He also addressed business seminars focusing on building strategic partnership for the future in each of the three cities. The Financial Secretary also visited Jakarta in late August, where he met President Soeharto and his cabinet ministers as well as top businessmen. In November, Mr Tsang led the Hong Kong delegation to attend the APEC meetings in Manila, the Philippines.
The Secretary for Trade and Industry, Miss Denise Yue, led a team of trade officials to represent Hong Kong at the first ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Singapore in early December. Earlier in November, she delivered a speech at a seminar organised by the ETO in Kuala Lumpur.
Brussels
The Governor visited Brussels in July to brief senior officials of the European Union and the Belgian government on the latest developments in Hong Kong. During the visit, Mr Patten was met by, among others, the President of the European Union, the President of the European Parliament and the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium.
In November, the Governor visited Paris and Bonn to lobby the French and German governments on visa-free access for future SAR passport holders. After meeting the French Foreign Minister and officials in Paris, the Governor went to Bonn where he had meetings with Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the German Foreign Minister.
In October, the Financial Secretary visited Brussels, Luxembourg and Rome, where he met cabinet ministers, officials and leading businessmen and bankers, in addition to signing the Belgium-Luxembourg/Hong Kong Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements and the Italy/Hong Kong Air Services Agreement.
In April, the Financial Secretary visited Zurich, where he met the Governor of the Swiss National Bank; Berne, where he called on the Swiss Minister of Finance; and Frankfurt, where he met the President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the President of the European Monetary Institute and senior German bankers.
Internet
To further enhance open, transparent and accountable government in Hong Kong, the administration has decided to make more and better use of the Internet to disseminate information on its policies and plans and to communicate with the public. The government home page (Government Information Centre http:\\\ www.info.gov.hk) provides a comprehensive range of information on Hong Kong. In