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COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

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bankers, businessmen and other influential personalities, outlining the latest economic developments in Hong Kong and explaining the business opportunities that exist in the information technology field.

On other visits to London: the Secretary for Transport, Mr Nicholas Ng, was the keynote speaker at a transport infrastructure conference in April organised by the London ETO together with the UK's Department of Transport and Industry. Representatives from the Highways Department, MTRC and KCRC also spoke at the conference. After the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Information Technology with the UK Government in June, the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mr K.C. Kwong, visited London in September. He addressed the IT industries in the United Kingdom and met government officials including the Minister for Small Business and e-Commerce, Ms Patricia Hewitt, and the Director-General of Telecommunications, Mr David Edmonds. The Secretary for Economic Services, Mr Stephen Ip, together with members of the Port and Maritime Board attended the Ship Register's Conference. In December, the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr John Tsang, spoke about intellectual property rights protection in Hong Kong.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Grenville Cross, the Law Officer (Civil Law), Mr Ian Wingfield, the Government Economist, Mr K.Y. Tang, and the Director of Immigration, Mr Ambrose Lee, also visited London during the year.

Apart from business seminars and briefings, the London ETO hosted a concert and reception for the Symphony Orchestra of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in August.

In November, the Brussels ETO organised a visit to Dublin by the Financial Secretary. Mr Tsang met the Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Mary Harney; the Minister of Finance, Mr Charlie McCreevy, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Mr Maurice O'Connell. He also visited Digital Park in western Dublin to examine the development of hi-tech industries in Ireland. At a luncheon hosted by the Edmund Burke Institute (a think tank and co-publisher of the World Economic Freedom Index Report), the Financial Secretary briefed economists, financial analysts and researchers on economic and financial developments in Hong Kong. He also addressed a luncheon attended by over 150 Irish Government officials, businessmen, and journalists.

Among other visits to Europe: the Deputy Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Kim Salkeld, visited Brussels and The Hague in January and discussed environmental issues with officials in the European Commission and the Dutch Government. In April, the Secretary for Transport, Mr Ng, led a delegation comprising a senior official from the Highways Department and representatives from the two railway corporations to Cologne and Rotterdam. The delegation members spoke at seminars on the latest transport infrastructure development plans in Hong Kong and the business opportunities open to European businesses.

The Deputy Secretary for Trade and Industry, Ms Yvonne Choi, visited Brussels in May and met officials from the Trade Directorate-General of the European Commission. The Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mr Kwong, visited Helsinki in September and met the Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Olli-Pekka Heinonen, to promote co-operation between Hong Kong and Finland in the development of information technology. He spoke at a