XN000022-1984-11-08 — Page 24

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1984

HONG KONG A POPULAR WORLD GATHERING PLACE'

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PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WERE INCREASINGLY RECOGNISING HONG KONG AS AN INTERNATIONAL GATHERING CENTRE, THE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES, MR PETER TSAO SAID TODAY.

+THIS IS A TENDENCY THAT IS GOING TO INCREASE, RATHER THAN DIMINISH, OVER THE YEARS AHEAD. FOR I AM CONVINCED THAT THE REASSURING JOINT DECLARATION ON HONG KONG'S FUTURE WILL SERVE AS A SPUR TO ACCELERATE THAT TREND EVEN FURTHER, MR TSAO TOLD THE LIONS CLUB OF TAI PING SHAN AT LUNCH TODAY.

HE SAID HONG KONG'S POPULARITY WAS SHOWN FROM THE MANY INTERNATIONAL EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS BEING HELD THIS MONTH IN HONG KONG.

NOVEMBER, HE SAID, WAS THE MOST CROWDED MONTH ON THE HONG KONG CALENDAR, AND HE CHOSE IN HIS SPEECH TO ILLUSTRATE THIS FACT,

AND ALSO THE FACT THAT THIS WAS WIDELY RECOGNISED BY PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF HONG KONG.

NOVEMBER IN HONG KONG, MR TSAO SAID, WAS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM +THE JAUNDICED VIEW OF THE ENGLISH NOVEMBER TAKEN BY THE 19TH CENTURY ENGLISH POET THOMAS HOOD, WHO DESCRIBED IT AS:

+NO WARMTH, NO CHEERFULNESS, NO HEALTHFUL EASE,

NO SHADE NO SHINE, NO BUTTERFLIES, NO BEES,

NOVEMBER? +

+HERE THINGS ARE DIFFERENT, MR TSAO SAID.

+OUR NOVEMBER BRINGS US, IF ANYTHING, A QUICKENING OF THE TEMPO AND AN ACCELERATION OF THE NORMAL ALACRITY WITH WHICH WE LEAD OUR LIVES.

+ IT IS A MONTH WHEN HONG KONG IS VISITED BY BETTER WEATHER, INCREASED NUMBERS OF TOURISTS AND A HOST OF DELEGATES TO ALL KINDS OF CONFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS.

+LOOKING AT HOTEL REGISTERS FILLED WITH GUESTS, WE MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO MISQUOTE HOOD AND SAY 'NOVEMBER! NO WONDER.'+

THE NOVEMBER ENTRIES OF EVENTS PUBLISHED BY THE HONG KONG TOURIST ASSOCIATION IN ITS DIARY OF COMING CONFERENCES AND EXHIBITIONS+ IN HONG KONG WAS +ENLIGHTENING+, HE SAID.

THERE WERE THE 1984 WORLD AMATEUR TEAM GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS TAKING PLACE AT THE ROYAL HONG KONG GOLF CLUB IN FANLING, TO BE FOLLOWED LATER BY THE HONG KONG OPEN AMATEUR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE DISCOVERY BAY GOLF CLUB.

THERE WAS ALSO THE THIRD HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL BOWLS CLASSIC, TO BE HELD FROM NOVEMBER 17 TO 25 AT THE HONG KONG FOOTBALL AND KOWLOON BOWLING GREEN CLUBS.

'EARLIER THIS .............