ENG-2015 — Page 45

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Constitution and Administration

Working Relationship with Macao Special Administrative Region

The Eighth Hong Kong-Macao Co-operation High Level Meeting was held in July. Both sides. agreed to forge closer ties on economic and trade co-operation and to strengthen co-operation in areas including e-government, finance, cross-boundary transport arrangements for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, environmental protection, culture and youth.

HKSAR's Offices on the Mainland

The HKSAR Government has five offices on the Mainland, namely, the Beijing Office (BJO) and the four Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (ETOS) in Chengdu, Guangdong, Shanghai and Wuhan. In addition, the Shandong Liaison Unit, formed under the Shanghai ETO in April, is the HKSAR Government's fifth liaison unit on the Mainland; the other four are in Chongqing, Fujian, Shenzhen and Liaoning. These offices and units are responsible for enhancing liaison, communication, trade, commercial relations and investment promotion on the Mainland; and providing support to Hong Kong residents and enterprises on the Mainland. Immigration Divisions in the BJO and the Chengdu and Guangdong ETOS provide practical help to Hong Kong residents in distress or seeking assistance on the Mainland and handle immigration

matters.

Exchanges with Taiwan

Hong Kong and Taiwan have close economic, cultural and social ties. Taiwan is Hong Kong's fourth largest trading partner in goods, with two-way trade amounting to US$43,784 million in 2015. The number of visitors from Taiwan in 2015 amounted to some 2.02 million.

Hong Kong co-operates with Taiwan on public policy areas through the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Cooperation and Promotion Council; and the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office in Taiwan promotes Hong Kong's image, strengthens bilateral exchanges, and serves Hong Kong people and businesses in Taiwan.

Key achievements in 2015 include the following:

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• Accreditation bodies in the two places signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Accreditation Technologies to launch co-operation related to areas including information sharing, research in new areas, technical support and personnel training;

• The Hong Kong Airport Authority and the Taoyuan Airport Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance exchanges between the two airports; and

The Beijing Office covers Beijing, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia, Tianjin and Xinjiang. The Guangdong ETO covers Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Yunnan. The Shanghai ETO covers Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanghai and Zhejiang. The Chengdu ETO covers Chongqing, Guizhou, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Tibet. The Wuhan ETO covers Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Shanxi.

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