ENG-2018 — Page 343

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Media and Communications

cultural institutions. Visits were arranged for the Secretary for Justice, the Secretary for the Civil Service and the Secretary for Labour and Welfare to the eastern US.

The office reached out to new stakeholders through arts, culture and sports. It hosted a reception in Newport, Rhode Island, for the Scallywag sailing team, Hong Kong's first entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, and set up a booth in Newport's Race Village. Sponsorships were renewed for the Hell Gate Sevens Tournament in New York, Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia and dragon boat festivals in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and New York.

The creative industries were promoted through several Hong Kong film series in New York and Chicago. The New York Asian Film Festival honoured director Dante Lam with the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema and actress Stephy Tang with the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award.

Ongoing arts fellowship partnerships with the Asian Cultural Council and Yale-China Association enabled outstanding Hong Kong artists to join residency programmes in New York and at Yale University respectively.

In an exciting year for the San Francisco ETO, the office presented the Nations Welcome Ceremony for the first Rugby World Cup Sevens held on American soil. Thousands of people gathered to welcome 40 men's and women's teams, including from Hong Kong, and were treated to a Cantonese opera performance. The opera troupe, as well as a rope skipping team that performed at the office's spring receptions, also participated in local community events as young talent representing Hong Kong.

Other notable developments included the Excellence in International Partnerships award given to the office by the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles. The office presented a curator talk at an exhibition honouring late Hong Kong painter Wesley Tongson and sponsored dragon boat festivals in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. Seven film festivals were supported across five US states, where five of the seven Hong Kong films showcased were produced by emerging filmmakers. Director Wong Kar-wai and actress Cheng Pei-pei were feted at the Hawaii International Film Festival and San Francisco's CAAMFest respectively.

The office welcomed the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Henry Lau, and the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing. It also promoted opportunities arising from I&T developments in Hong Kong and raised awareness of the Greater Bay Area and Belt and Road Initiative through talks and seminars.

The Toronto ETO staged a five-month nationwide roving exhibition entitled 'Hong Kong: Asia's World City' to showcase the achievements and beauty of Hong Kong. It also organised and participated in various business events across Canada to promote Hong Kong as an ideal gateway to Mainland China, other parts of Asia and the Belt and Road region.

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