ENG-2011 — Page 416

360 Communications, the Media and Information Technology

An inaugural 'Hong Kong Cinema' festival was held in San Francisco in September at which seven Hong Kong films were screened. Hong Kong film directors Alex Law and Clement Cheng attended the opening night screening and cocktail reception.

In November, the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, addressed an audience of more than 200 businessmen and government officials at a luncheon in Los Angeles, organised by the San Francisco ETO. The title of the speech was 'Hong Kong: A Global Financial Hub; Your Offshore Renminbi Centre'.

Mr Tsang also called on the Mayor of Los Angeles, Mr Antonio Villaraigosa; gave a talk at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and met members of the Committee of 100 as well as the Pacific Council on International Policy. He also spoke at a reception, entitled 'Unlimited Appeal Asia's World City: Hong Kong' to promote Hong Kong as the premium tourist destination.

Some 200 Hawaiin and Hong Kong business leaders and officials attended a reception hosted by Hong Kong during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation 2011 meeting in Honolulu in November. The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, were in attendance.

North Asia

The year 2011 was exceptionally busy and challenging for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Tokyo (Tokyo ETO), particularly in the wake of the powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck wide areas of eastern Japan in March. The office worked tirelessly to assist Hong Kong people living in or visiting the country at the time who needed help.

Tokyo ETO also helped to send relief supplies to the victims of the twin disasters and got visiting Hong Kong students to help cheer up the children of displaced families by writing and sending them greeting cards.

In July, Tokyo ETO organised a six-day business study visit to Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen for a group of senior executives of small and medium sized Japanese companies.

The office also organised business seminars in Japan and Korea to strengthen their commercial links with Hong Kong and to highlight Hong Kong's advantages as an international financial and business centre as well as a gateway to the vast Mainland market.

Tokyo ETO lent support to the HKTB in its staging of the Hong Kong Food Festival in Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo and Fukuoka.

The Secretary for Justice, Mr Wong Yan Lung, and the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose Lee, visited Seoul and Tokyo in December and November respectively to strengthen ties with their counterparts in the two countries.