ENG-2007 — Page 402

338 Communications, the Media and Information Technology

Hans-Rudolf Merz in Bern, as well as members of the Swiss banking community. He also visited Cannes to lend support to members of the Hong Kong film industry who were attending the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival.

In February, the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr Joseph. Wong, also lent his support to the Hong Kong film industry by making a side-trip to Berlin, where Hong Kong was taking part in the Berlinale film expo. The tour also took him to Brussels where he met European Commissioner for Trade, Mr Peter Mandelson, and Belgian Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mr Didier Reynders.

In May, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, travelled to The Hague, Brussels and Berlin on a fact-finding visit to look at food safety measures there and at the way healthcare was financed in that part of the world. He then went to Geneva to attend the World Health Organisation's 60th World Health Assembly.

The Secretary for Justice, Mr Wong Yan Lung, visited Dublin in October to sign an agreement with the Irish Government on the Surrender of Fugitive Offenders. He called on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr Brian Lenihan, and the Attorney General of Ireland, Mr Paul Gallagher.

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The Director of Immigration, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, visited Frankfurt, Brussels, London, Paris and The Hague in late March/April to introduce the HKSAR's new electronic passport with biometric data to his European counterparts. The passport was hailed as one of the most technologically-advanced and beautifully- designed travel documents to date.

Celebrations were organised in many European countries to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of China. In June, the Brussels Office held three receptions in the Berlin Konzethaus, the Monnaie Theatre in Brussels and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Thirty-six student artists from the HKAPA performed at the functions treating guests to Cantonese opera, Chinese music and contemporary dance. A total of 1 200 guests, comprising diplomats, government officials and business people attended the receptions.

In December, with the support of Cathay Pacific Airways and Sofitel, the Brussels Office organised a five-day Hong Kong Food Festival at a hotel near the Champs- Elysées in Paris. Demanding French diners had a chance to taste Hong Kong cuisine. at its best. The festival was a big success.

The Hong Kong Film Panorama 2007-08, hosted by the Brussels ETO for the fourth consecutive year, featured 14 films, including several award-winning titles. The festival toured eight cities - Antwerp, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Graz, Hamburg, Vienna and Berlin - as part of the Asia-Pacific Week exposition, a biennial cultural event organised by the Berlin City Government.

The London ETO organised a series of events to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR. These included a dragon boat festival in London on July 1, receptions and seminars in London, Moscow, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm, and photo exhibitions in London and Moscow. The