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Media and Communications
and the media, making 24 visits to 20 states. Trips by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development were organised.
To highlight Hong Kong's soft power, the New York office supported a number of Hong Kong film festivals in New York City and Chicago and introduced a younger crop of Hong Kong actors. and filmmakers to the US audience. It also celebrated Hong Kong Ballet's tour in New York City, supported the debut recital of Hong Kong pianist Warren Lee at the Carnegie Hall, and continued arts fellowship programmes with the Asian Cultural Council and the Yale-China Association to develop emerging Hong Kong artists.
In sports, the office sponsored the New York Sevens and Hell Gate Sevens rugby tournaments in New York City, Collegiate Rugby Championship in Pennsylvania, and Hong Kong dragon boat festivals in New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.
The office continued to engage the younger generation through speeches at universities and its Facebook page. It organised 'Hong Kong Welcomes U'roving talks at eight top universities in the northeastern states to promote Hong Kong's talent admission schemes and facilitation
measures.
The San Francisco ETO welcomed five principal officials to California in 2016. It hosted the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in San Francisco; the Secretary for Innovation and Technology in Silicon Valley; as well as the Financial Secretary and the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in Los Angeles.
Staff of the office visited 11 cities across eight western US states to foster Hong Kong business ties with the US.
Much effort also went into promoting Hong Kong's cultural and creative industries. The office sponsored seven film festivals in five states that featured Hong Kong movies. It also organised and supported various events, including a photo exhibition, a history lecture, a piano recital, other talks, exhibitions and performances by Hong Kong designers and artists, and the annual San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival.
The Toronto ETO organised visits of the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to Toronto and Calgary to foster economic and trade ties between Hong Kong and Canada. It also promoted Hong Kong's business opportunities at business seminars in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
To promote the Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents and other admission schemes, the Toronto office rolled out a publicity campaign which included a dedicated webpage, feature newspaper supplements and seminars for university students.
Under the support of the office, Hong Kong Ballet performed in Ottawa and three other Canadian cities. The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) staged a Cantonese opera show jointly with a local performing group in Toronto.
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