ENG-2003 — Page 431

COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

the finale of the Hong Kong

Live It, Love It! promotion organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). He also attended a concert presented by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra at the Natural History Museum.

In France, Mr Tung had discussions with President Jacques Chirac in an hour-long meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, and held separate meetings with the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, Mr Francis Mer; senior members of the Government, and business leaders. He also visited the Confucius at the Dawn of Chinese Humanism exhibition at the Guimet National Museum of Asian Art.

Also visiting Europe during the year were the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joseph Wong, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr Patrick Ho, and Mr Henry Tang, then Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology.

Mr Ma visited London, Frankfurt and Zurich in July as part of the Economic Relaunch Campaign to promote Hong Kong post-SARS. Mr Ip took the relaunch message to London, Denmark and the Netherlands in September in the course of a visit aimed at promoting Hong Kong's logistics and maritime services as well as its position as the premier hub port of Asia.

Mr Wong visited Brussels in Belgium and Salzburg in Austria in June, his visit coming after Hong Kong had successfully contained the SARS outbreak and been removed from the World Health Organisation's (WHO) list of areas with recent local transmission of the disease. He also attended the three-day programme of the Salzburg Seminar, a prestigious international educational centre.

As Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr Tang visited Brussels in January, having useful exchanges on further cooperation with a number of Belgian Government ministers, and representatives of European institutions. In March, he led a business delegation of information and communications technology executives from Hong Kong on a visit to Ireland, Germany and Finland.

Dr Ho visited London in February to exchange views on heritage preservation with policy-makers and expert advisers on the subject. He inspected a number of heritage sites, and hosted a pre-concert reception for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's European debut at the Barbican Hall.

North America

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, visited the United States in September to promote Hong Kong's role as an international business hub and the ideal strategic partner for accessing the Mainland market.

In Washington DC, Mr Tsang met the Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, to discuss the implementation of the 'one country, two systems' principle, developments on Article 23 of the Basic Law, measures to counter any future outbreak of SARS and Hong Kong's cooperation in the global fight against terrorism. In New York and San Francisco, Mr Tsang delivered keynote speeches at business lunches and launched the Hong Kong Live it, Love it! promotion. He also met members of the think tank communities and briefed editors of major media organisations.

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The Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Mr Stephen Lam, visited Boston in April to speak at the Harvard China Review's sixth annual conference on 'Transition: Exploring China's Path Forward'.

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