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Government to set up special fund for athletic development
The acting Governor, Mrs Anson Chan, announced today (Friday) the setting up of a special fund for athletic development in recognition of Hong Kong's Olympic
success.
Speaking at a reception in honour of the 1996 Hong Kong Olympic Team, Mrs Chan said the purpose of the fund was to provide for the training and educational needs of individual athletes, allowing them to concentrate on the pursuit of excellence in their chosen sport.
Mrs Chan said Hong Kong's first medal success in 44 years of participation at the Olympics was richly deserved, both by Ms Lee Lai-shan, the gold medallist, and the whole team.
"You will all go down in history as Hong Kong's first ever Olympic medal- winning team," she said.
She said the hard work of the coaches, the managers, and above all, the Hong Kong's Olympic Committee have contributed hugely to Hong Kong's athletes' achievements.
The fund will tentatively be known as the Hong Kong Athlete's Fund and the details of its scope, purpose and procedures will be drawn up by the Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport.
Mrs Chan said to encourage the community to contribute generously to the fund, the government has decided to match, dollar for dollar, donations to the fund.
"Government's own commitment would be capped initially at $8 million, although we do not propose to limit the eventual size of the fund itself," Mrs Chan said.
She urged private sector sponsors to support generously Hong Kong's athletes, in the light of the Olympic success.
"As we have seen clearly over the past few days, the positive effect of international sporting success on the morale of our athletes and on our whole community is a repayment many times over of the money that we invest in nurturing the sports environment," she said.