10
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1980
PASSING TWO +PAT LAUS+ PUT UP IN HER HONOUR, THE PRINCESS HAD A CHAT WITH A YOUNG BRITISH COUPLE HOLIDAYING ON THE ISLAND.
IN THE RESTAURANT THE PRINCESS SIGNED THE VISITORS' BOOK AND VIEWED A DISPLAY OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHEUNG CHAU BUN FESTIVALS.
SHE WAS THEN JOINED BY PROMINENT MEMBERS OF THE NEW TERRITORIES ISLANDS COMMUNITY AND OFFICIALS FROM VARIOUS GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.
MR KWONG PING-YAU, CHAIRMAN OF CHEUNG CHAU RURAL COMMITTEE, GAVE A SHORT WELCOMING SPEECH BEFORE PRESENTING A SOUVENIR TO THE PRINCESS.
HE SAID CHEUNG CHAU HAD WITNESSED RAPID DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THE LAST ROYAL VISIT BY PRINCESS MARGARET IN 1966.
+TODAY, THE WHOLE OF THE ISLAND IS AGAIN PRIVILEGED WITH THE PRESENCE OF YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS AND WE REJOICE IN OUR GOOD FORTUNE WHICH AUGURS WELL FOR THE FUTURE.+
AFTER LUNCH, THE PRINCESS WALKED ALONG TUNG WAN BEACH WHERE A SIX-STOREY HOTEL AND A LARGE PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL PROJECT COMPRISING 48 BLOCKS OF SPANISH-TYPE HOUSES ARE TAKING SHAPE.
SHE WAS ALSO TOLD BY MR LO THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD EMBARKED ON A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMME TO DEVELOP THE ISLAND INTO A MODERN TOWNSHIP.
INCLUDED IN PLANS ARE A SECOND FERRY PIER, A PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATE FOR 2 000 PEOPLE, AS WELL AS LIGHT INDUSTRIAL AREAS AND SITES FOR BOATYARDS AND VILLAGE-TYPE HOUSING.
ALONG TUNG WAN. BEACH ROAD, SHE STOPPED TO TALK TO SOME CAMPERS FROM A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN TSUEN WAN.
THE PRINCESS THEN WALKED ALONG SOME OF THE ISLAND'S BUSY STREETS AND VISITED THE FAMILY OF A LONG-TIME RESIDENT OF THE ISLAND, MR T.K. LAW, ON HER WAY TO THE 200-YEAR-OLD PAK TAI TEMPLE WHERE SHE WAS GREETED BY SEVERAL HUNDRED SCHOOL CHILDREN,
MR LAW IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE TSANG FOOK PIANO CO AND HIS FAMILY'S RESIDENCE ON CHEUNG CHAU DATED BACK TO THE CHING DYNASTY MORE THAN 150 YEARS AGO.
NEAR THE TEMPLE SHE SAW A DISPLAY OF COLOURFUL FLOATS, WHICH ARE TRADITIONALLY PUT ON PARADE DURING CHINESE FESTIVALS AND ON OTHER IMPORTANT OCCASIONS.
AT THE TEMPLE ENTRANCE, THE PRINCESS MET THE 11 EXECUTIVE COUNCILLORS OF THE RURAL COMMITTEE AND THE TEMPLE KEEPER, MR PONG LING.
MR LO BRIEFED THE PRINCESS ON THE HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE WHICH IS DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF THE NORTH, WHO, ACCORDING TO LEGEND, FREED THE ISLANDERS FROM A PLAGUE MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES AGO,
/SHE ALSO
+