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On the second day (Berlin time, June 15) of her visit to Europe, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, met Mr Guenther Rinsche, Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a prominent German think tank, in Berlin. She briefed Mr Rinsche on the latest economic and political developments in Hong Kong and exchanged views on the impact on China of its accession to WTO.

After a luncheon meeting with a select group of German bankers and businessmen, Mrs Chan called on the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ludger Volmer. She raised the question of visa-free access for HKSAR passport holders and encouraged more bilateral exchanges at ministerial level between the two governments.

In the evening, Mrs Chan attended a gala dinner at Town Hall of Berlin. She told the 80 assembled guests that Hong Kong was positioning itself as Asia's premier international city for commerce and business, finance, tourism, transport, communication, innovation and technology. She said she hoped the Hong Kong Promotion in Berlin, which aims to provide a closer glimpse of Hong Kong in all its diversity, would foster stronger ties with the German capital.

Mrs Chan will officiate at the opening of the first major event of the Hong Kong Promotion tomorrow (Berlin time, June 16), an exhibition of Hong Kong architecture entitled "The Aesthetics of Connection".

She will then address a business conference organised by the Asia Pacific Association, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels. The emphasis of the conference, which will be attended by 200 business leaders, will be on information technology, Hong Kong as a springboard to China, and the opportunities offered by China's accession to the WTO.

In the evening, Mrs Chan will launch the Hong Kong Food Week, which will be held next week at Berlin's prestigious Adlon Hotel, with a VIP dinner for 200 guests.

End/Thursday, June 15, 2000

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