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On the third day of her European tour, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, called on the German Federal President, Mr Johannes Rau, on Friday morning June 16 (Berlin time).

Mrs Chan briefed the President on the latest political and economic developments in Hong Kong. She also invited the President to visit Hong Kong to see for himself the smooth implementation of the 'one country, two systems' concept.

During the morning Mrs Chan also met the Minister-President and Governing Mayor of Berlin, Mr Eberhard Diepgen, at the Berlin Town Hall, and Mr Ruprecht Polentz, the Secretary-General of Germany's largest political party, the CDU.

Mrs Chan then officiated at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong architecture exhibition, "The Aesthetics of Density", which illustrates the unique solutions Hong Kong has devised to cope with a high population density and scarcity of land. Reunified Berlin, with its huge construction projects evident all over the city, is the ideal venue for such an exhibition.

The Chief Secretary then made the keynote address at a business seminar organised by the HKTDC, the Asia Pacific Association and the HKETO Brussels.

"We have tackled the challenges thrown up by the Asian financial crisis to effect reforms, sharpened our strategic thinking and put in train the building blocks we need to achieve our goal of becoming Asia's world city," Mrs Chan told 200 luncheon guests.

Mrs Chan said Hong Kong has a clear vision of what it must do to stay ahead of the e-wave and ensure that its economy is properly geared to meet the challenges of the new century.

"There must be a more important role in the economy for innovation and technology. A multi-faceted Cyberport which has already attracted some of the world's most important hi-tech players as anchor tenants is taking shape," she said.

The Chief Secretary for Administration stressed that above all, as a community, we are determined to maintain the high degree of autonomy mandated to us by Beijing that protects our freedoms and way of life. She pointed out that Hong Kong's systems are vastly different from those in the Mainland, and this is essential to its continued stability, prosperity and economic development.

"We are proud to be reunited with China, but we jealously guard the high degree of autonomy provided by the Basic Law. It sends an important message to the international community that their investments, their business dealings, their commercial contracts and their human rights and freedoms are protected by a trusted legal system and an independent judiciary based on English common law," she noted.

Mrs Chan concluded that Hong Kong considers it of the highest importance to forge even closer ties with its friends and partners in Europe, particularly in Germany, its largest trading partner in continental Europe.

Later in the afternoon, Mrs Chan will officiate at a Hong Kong-Berlin cultural exchange organised by the HKTA, before meeting the President of another prominent think tank, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and German Federal Minister of the Interior, Mr Otto Schily. Mrs Chan will seek the Minister's support for granting visa-free access to HKSAR passport holders.

In the evening, Mrs Chan will preside over the opening dinner of the Hong Kong Food Festival, another colourful highlight of the Hong Kong Promotion in Berlin.

Photo: The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, meeting with Mr Eberhard Diepgen, Minister-President and Governing Mayor of Berlin, in Berlin. Mrs Chan also officiated at the opening of the first major event of the Hong Kong Promotion, an exhibition of Hong Kong architecture. She then addressed a business conference organised by the Asia Pacific Association, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels.

End/Friday, June 16, 2000

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