ENG-2008 — Page 414

338 Communications, the Media and Information Technology

The London ETO organised several visits by senior Hong Kong Government officials to countries under its purview in 2008, notably the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang's visit to London in November where he met Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Conservative Leader David Cameron, and was Guest of Honour at the HKTDC Annual Dinner. Mr Tsang also gave a talk at the London School of Economics.

The London ETO co-organised a programme, 'Creative Hong Kong in London' in June with the Hong Kong Design Centre and HKTDC. It was launched by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, who gave a speech at the Hong Kong Creative Business Forum at the London Business School to mark the occasion.

The London ETO supported a number of artistic and musical events, including the first full UK tour by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle. It also sponsored the screening of Hong Kong films at Copenhagen's NATFilm Festival, the Riga Arsenals Film Festival and the Stockholm International Film Festival as well as supported projects involving Hong Kong artists. in London, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Brighton. The London Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, which attracted over 20 000 festival-goers, was also sponsored by the office.

London ETO again took part in London's Lord Mayor's Show, with a stunning acrobatic display by a flying lion team outside Mansion House. Over 500 000 people turned up for the show.

Working with the HKTDC, the London ETO organised 10 Chinese New Year receptions to celebrate the Year of the Rat in Moscow, St. Petersburg, London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Malmö and Helsinki.

North America

The Washington ETO presented the 13th annual 'Made in Hong Kong Film Festival' co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution's 'Freer Gallery of Art'.

The office promoted Hong Kong's co-hosting of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games via television and online publicity campaigns with National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the official broadcaster of the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In May, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, visited Washington, DC. He met the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Christopher Cox; Chairman of The Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve, Mr Ben Bernanke; and the US Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, Mr David McCormick. Professor Chan also delivered a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In November, the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, and the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Mr Joseph Yam, attended the G20 Financial Market and World Economic Summit as members of the Chinese delegation.