ii
CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN 2001
31
February
8
9
15
16
22
27
28
The Commissioner for Narcotics, Mrs Clarie Lo, leads a delegation of Hong Kong experts at a plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering in Paris.
The Chief Executive attends a Question and Answer Session in the Legislative Council.
The Chief Executive meets Justice P.N. Bhagwati and Ms Christine Chanet of the UN Human Rights Committee.
Mr Stuart Harbinson, the Permanent Representative of Hong Kong, China to the World Trade Organisation, is elected Chairman of the WTO's General Council for 2001.
The Government announces that the Central People's Government has, on the nomination and recommendation of the Chief Executive, appointed Mr Donald Tsang as Chief Secretary for Administration, and Mr Antony Leung, a leading banker and Executive Council member, his successor as Financial Secretary. They will take up their posts on May 1.
The Chief Executive meets the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Jean Chretien, at Government House and warmly welcomes the visit of the high-powered Team Canada trade mission to Hong Kong.
The Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mrs Lily Yam, leads the HKSAR delegation in the second meeting of the Hong Kong Guangdong Joint Working Group on Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection.
The Buildings Department, Lands Department and Planning Department launch the first batch of incentives to encourage the design and construction of environmentally friendly features, such as balconies and sky gardens, in new building developments.
The Secretary for Justice, Ms Elsie Leung, begins a visit to London and Oxford in Britain during which she meets UK Government officials and speaks at the World Women Lawyers Conference organised by the International Bar Association.
March
3
The International Monetary Fund gives a positive assessment of Hong Kong's economic performance and prospects, as well as its economic and fiscal policies, in its Staff Report on the HKSAR. It is impressed with Hong Kong's rapid economic recovery in 1999-2000 from the Asian financial crisis, attributing the successful turnaround of the economy to the flexibility of Hong Kong's markets and the authorities' pragmatic handling of fiscal policy during the recession.