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Soldiers have sights set on Swiss shooting competition
Gurkha and British soldiers from the Queen's Gurkha Signals will challenge members of the Swiss Rifle Association of Hong Kong to a shooting competition this weekend.
Operation Mercury 1996 marks the 25th anniversary of the competition and will see Swiss military and consulate staff, along with their rifle association colleagues, pit their shooting skills against the Regiment's crack shots in a good- natured and friendly event at Lo Wu Ranges on September 21 and 22.
By coincidence the Regiment also celebrates its 47th birthday on Monday (September 23).
Also present at the range will be Commander British Forces, Major General Bryan Dutton, and Colonel of the Regiment, Brigadier Mervyn Lee, who will swop their rifles for a traditional Swiss crossbow in a VIP competition against a team from the Swiss Consulate, headed by the Consul Jean-Jacques Mayor.
Once the shooting events have been completed, on Sunday, there will be a short commissioning parade during which Lieutenant Rajendraman Gurung will be commissioned as a Queen's Gurkha Officer.
This will be followed by the presentation to all members of the Regiment of specially engraved Swiss army knives, an appropriate symbol to commemorate 25 years of partnership between the Queen's Gurkha Signals and the Swiss community.
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Governor meets student painters
The three first prize winners of "My City of Vision" student painting competition presented their paintings to the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, at Government House today (Thursday).
They were among the 39 winners in the painting competition organised last September to promote students' awareness of the growth and future development of Hong Kong.
Mr Patten congratulated the three students, aged eight, 14 and 16 respectively, and was impressed by their creativity and artistic skills.