COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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North and South-East Asia
The Chief Secretary for Administration visited Japan in October, and officiated at a special ceremony to mark the opening of the Hong Kong Film Festival in Tokyo. She also called on the Foreign Minister, Mr Yohei Kono. In November, Mrs Chan visited Pusan, Republic of Korea, to make a final submission to the General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia on Hong Kong's bid to host the 2006 Asian Games. Mrs Chan, Chairman of the Asian Games Bid Committee, had also visited Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May to promote the bid prior to the annual meeting in the city of the Association of National Olympic Committees.
A number of senior government officials visited capital cities in South-East Asia in particular Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand calling on government counterparts and agencies and discussing business developments in the region as well as matters ranging from urban redevelopment and transport works to environmental hygiene and health facilities and the preservation of cultural traditions.
In June, the Director-General of Telecommunications, Mr Anthony Wong, visited Singapore to receive a Best Telecommunications Regulator award from Telecom Asia, a leading telecommunications industry magazine, on behalf of the Office of the Telecommunications Authority. The Commissioner of Insurance, Mr Benjamin Tang, was invited to be an adjudicator for the 4th Asia Insurance Awards in August. At a luncheon organised by the Singapore HKETO, he spoke about Hong Kong's insurance industry and the opportunities that would arise from China's accession to the WTO. In September, the Secretary for Financial Services called on the Finance Minister, Dr Richard Hu, and the Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Brigadier-General Lee Hsien Loong.
During the year, the Singapore HKETO participated in exhibitions in Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur which featured international communications and information technology, and took the opportunity to showcase Hong Kong's latest developments in the IT industry including the Digital 21 IT Strategy, the Electronic Service Delivery and the Interactive Government Services Directory as well as the Cyberport project.
Hong Kong's spectacular landscapes, diverse wildlife and conservation projects were shown in the Green Hong Kong photography exhibition in Singapore, an event jointly organised by the HKETO, the Hong Kong Conservation Photography Foundation, the Hong Kong Tourist Association and the Nature Society (Singapore). A seminar on Environmental Protection and Conservation -- - Perspectives from Hong Kong and Singapore was held in conjunction with the photography exhibition. The Hong Kong - Philippine Cultural Dialogue · the first cultural exchange organised by the Singapore HKETO and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines - was held in Manila in September. The event took the form of a gathering of leaders of cultural and arts organisations, aiming to foster international relations through the promotion of artistic collaboration, artist exchanges, artistic joint ventures, training and education of cultural workers, and art administration.
Australia and New Zealand
The Chief Secretary for Administration attended the Olympics Games in Sydney in September to give support to Hong Kong's athletes as well as to lobby for Hong Kong's bid to host the 2006 Asian Games. She also met the Federal Minister for