ENG-1999 — Page 414

COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

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administrations, was further extended in 1999 to the tracking and tracing of registered mail, recorded delivery items, insured items and parcels.

A notable initiative by Hongkong Post during the year was the development of a public certification authority to support the Government's commitment in providing a favourable environment for electronic commerce to take hold and flourish in Hong Kong. This initiative represents an important step forward in the establishment of a local public key infrastructure, which will enhance the security of electronic transactions conducted over open networks. With the use of digital signature and public/private key cryptographic technology, parties to electronic transactions will be able to authenticate the identity of other parties to the transactions, ascertain the integrity and confidentiality of the messages exchanged and ensure that the transactions made with these messages cannot be repudiated.

Hongkong Post expected to start providing certification authority services to the public and businesses from January 2000. The launching of a certification authority project will enable Hongkong Post to develop new services such as the Electronic Post Box and the Secure Electronic Courier Service. It will also facilitate the development of new electronic commerce applications by the private sector.

Seven sets of special stamps were issued during the year featuring the Lunar New Year Greetings, International Year of Older Persons 1999, Giant Pandas in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Public Road Transport, Tourism, 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese White Dolphin. The first scratch-off Lunar New Year Greeting stamps and the first 'Giant Pandas in Hong Kong' circular stamp sheetlet were issued during the year. A stamp sheetlet depicting the 12 animals of the Lunar New Year Cycle was also issued. On October 18, the first series of definitive stamps since the establishment of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, bearing the name 'Hong Kong, China', was released to replace the set of definitive stamps issued in January 1997. Hong Kong's scenery and famous landmarks are depicted on the new stamps.

In January, Hongkong Post held a Youth Stamp Design Contest for Millennium Stamps to encourage children to express their thoughts on the new millennium and to promote their interest in stamp design. The four winning designs were adopted for the production of a set of special stamps to commemorate the millennium. In February, a Chinese Letter Writing Competition was organised to promote youngsters' interest in Chinese writing and to revitalise letter writing as an essential means of communication. It was organised in relation to the 28th International Letter Writing Competition held by the Universal Postal Union, in which the winning composition of Hong Kong was entered.

During the year, Hongkong Post participated in two international stamp exhibitions overseas and a travelling exhibition in the Mainland to promote the collection of Hong Kong stamps and to raise the international awareness of Hong Kong stamps.

Hong Kong has maintained a high international reputation for its efficient postal services. Since reunification with the Mainland, Hongkong Post has participated in the activities organised by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU) as a member of the delegation of the People's Republic of China (PRC). In technical meetings and activities on postal business not limited to