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The HKSAR's 10th anniversary was the theme of a series of events organised by the San Francisco ETO which started in April 2007. Film directors Patrick Tam and Daniel Wu and actors Conroy Chan, Andrew Lin and Terence Yin were special guests. at the 'Hong Kong Films' Day' which launched the anniversary celebrations. Mr Tam also gave talks and shared some of his directing experiences with film schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In addition to hosting five receptions in different US cities and states in conjunction with the Films' Day, and staging the anniversary exhibitions, the San Francisco ETO made capital of the events by highlighting the HKSAR's achievements over the past decade. The ETO ran two contests in the mainstream and Chinese media and broadcast a four-part documentary, 'Inside Hong Kong', on television.
On the cultural side, the San Francisco ETO played host to a well-received performance by the City Contemporary Dance Company and assisted the Hong Kong Children's Symphony Orchestra in their concert tour of North America.
The 10th anniversary celebrations ended on a high note with the holding of a large business conference, entitled 'Bustling Hong Kong: the Premier Commercial and Financial Hub in Asia', with Mr Frederick Ma, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, as the keynote speaker.
North Asia
The Tokyo ETO held a series of special events this year to mark the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China. These included a seminar on May 8, entitled 'Hong Kong - New Opportunities as an International Financial Centre' and two receptions in Seoul and Tokyo on May 30 and June 27 respectively. Attended by senior government officials and business leaders, the events helped highlight the successful 'one country, two systems' arrangement under which Hong Kong is run.
The ETO also ran an English speech competition in conjunction with the newspaper Daily Yomiuri for university students. Entitled 'About Hong Kong', the contest provided young Japanese with an opportunity to know more about Hong Kong. Students from as far as Hokkaido and Okinawa took part in the contest which ran from May to September.
On the cultural front, the ETO and the Hong Kong Tourism Board joined forces to organise the Hong Kong Film Festival in October as part of the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival.
Southeast Asia
In August, Mr John C Tsang made his first official visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as Hong Kong's Financial Secretary. He met the Minister of Finance II, Senator Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop and Deputy Finance Minister, Dato' Dr Ng Yen Yen to discuss cooperation between Hong Kong and Malaysia in financial matters. He also held talks with major banks and financial investment companies on global and regional financial development, including the subject of Islamic finance, and briefed them on Hong Kong's economy.
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