XN000022-1986-06-09 — Page 3

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MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1986

HE NOTED THAT THE RACES HAD GENERATED ENORMOUS INTEREST AND SUPPORT FROM THE CANADIAN PUBLIC.

+ DRAGON BOAT RACING IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE HONG KONG TRADITION AND WE ARE HAPPY THAT EXPO 186 HAS ENABLED US TO INITIATE CANADA INTO THIS TRADITIONAL CHINESE SPORTING EVENT. WE ARE ALSO GRATEFUL TO THE HONG KONG PAVILION AND THE CORPORATE SPONSORS WHO DONATED SIX DRAGON BOATS FOR THE RACES,+ HE ADDED.

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THE TREE THAT GAVE HONG KONG ITS NAME

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MUCH EVIDENCE WAS DRAWN BY FAMOUS HISTORIANS TO PROVE THAT HONG KONG DERIVED ITS NAME FROM THE INCENSE TREE, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (CONSERVATION AND COUNTRY PARKS) OF THE AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT, MR K.C. IU, SAID THIS (MONDAY) EVENING.

J

SUCH EVIDENCE HE SAID. WAS DOCUMENTED IN A BOOK +HONG KONG AND ITS EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION BEFORE 1842+ BY THE LATE PROFESSOR LO HS FANG-LIN AND MADAM CHENG YUET-NGO.

SPEAKING AT A DINNER HOSTED BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF THE NEW TERRITORIES, MR IU SAID THAT THE INCENSE TREE OR HEUNG TREE, A SPECIES NATIVE TO THE COASTAL AREAS OF GUANGDONG PROVINCE' AND NORTHERN VIETNAM, WAS WIDELY CULTIVATED IN TON KUN AND SUN ON DISTRICTS IN THE PAST.

LOCALLY, PLACES LIKE LEK YUEN (SHA TIN) AND SHA LO WAN (LANTAU) USED TO BE THE MAIN GROWING AREAS.

WHEN HEUNG TREE REACHES A HEIGHT OF 20 FEET, CUTS CAN BE MADE ON THE LOWER TRUNK FOR SAP WHICH BECOMES INCENSE+ WHEN SOLIDIFIED.

+ IN THE PAST, THE PRODUCE WAS HIGHLY VALUED BY THE PEOPLE OF GUANGDONG, ZHEJIANG AND JIANGSU WHO USED LARGE QUANTITIES FOR INDOOR PERFUME',+ MR IU SAID.

+LOCALLY, IT WAS COLLECTED BY AGENTS OF INCENSE MERCHANTS AND CONVEYED BY LAND TO THE INCENSE JETTY' AT TSIM SHA TSUI FROM WHERE IT WAS TRANSPORTED BY JUNKS TO SHEK PAI WAN (NOW ABERDEEN) AND THEN TO CHINA, SOUTHEAST ASIA AND PLACES AS FAR AS ARABIA.

+HENCE, SHEK PAI WAN WAS KNOWN AS INCENSE HARBOUR OR HEONG KONG AND THE WHOLE ISLAND EVENTUALLY BECAME KNOWN AS "HONG KONG

/MR IU