ENG-2002 — Page 22

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN 2002

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Unemployment in June-August declines slightly from 7.8 per cent to 7.6 per cent, after persistent increases; the rate drops further, and stands at 7.2 per cent at year-end.

The Chief Secretary for Administration leads a delegation of senior government officials to attend a meeting in Shanghai of the Mainland/ HKSAR Conference on Coordination of Major Infrastructure Projects; it is the third such meeting after the initial meeting in Beijing in January.

The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Raymond Wong, and the Commissioner of the US Customs Service, Mr Robert Bonner, sign a Declaration of Principles for the Container Security Initiative, which aims at safeguarding global maritime trade by enhancing Customs cooperation at seaports world-wide.

The Government releases a consultation document on its proposals to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law which concerns the protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and national security; over 90 000 submissions are received from organisations and individuals by the close of the consultation period on December 24.

The Chief Executive delivers a keynote address at the second annual Forbes Global CEO Conference, of which Invest Hong Kong is the host sponsor on behalf of the Government.

The Financial Secretary attends the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Washington, DC, in the course of a five- day visit to the United States and Canada; his visit begins in San Francisco and ends in Toronto.

October

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Celebrations to mark the 53rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China begin with a flag-raising ceremony at the Golden Bauhinia Square in the morning and culminate with a spectacular fireworks display in the evening.

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, officiates at the opening of the Sha Tin Government Offices - the largest joint-user government office building in the New Territories.

The Chief Executive presents honours and awards to 274 recipients at the 2002 Honours and Awards Presentation Ceremony held at Government House; the honours include two medals for bravery, awarded posthumously.

The Financial Secretary officiates at the opening of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong; the office is located in Tianhe North Road, Guangzhou City.

The Government announces the appointment of 17 members to the newly established Manpower Development Committee for a term of two years under the chairmanship of the Secretary for Education and Manpower.