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Following is the speech by the Acting Postmaster General, Mr Allan Chiang, at the "Hong Kong Insects" Special Stamps Issuing Ceremony today (July 16):

Mrs Wei, distinguished guests and friends from the media,

Thank you for joining us today at the issuing ceremony for the "Hong Kong Insects" Special Stamp Issue. I would like to extend our special thanks to Mrs Lessie Wei, the Director of Agricultural, Fisheries & Conservation Department for officiating today's ceremony.

Hong Kong is a metropolitan city yet its rural area nourishes over 5,000 species of attractive insect, some of them are rarely found in other parts of the world. The set of four stamps issued today depicts Lantern Fly, Yellow-spotted Emerald, Hong Kong Birdwing and Red-cap Tortoise Beetle. Among these species, Yellow-spotted Emerald is endemic and Hong Kong Birdwing is endangered. By featuring these insects on our stamps, not only the ecology of Hong Kong is brought to the attention of the public, but people all over the world can get to know more about the characteristics of Hong Kong by merely looking at these stamps.

The special fine screen printing method applied on the set issued today is far more refined than conventional printing, making the very exquisite details of these colourful insects visible to the eye of philatelists.

What's more, the stamps are engraved with micro-prints, a security feature which brings more fun for philatelists when searching miniature prints on the stamp with a magnifying glass. This special feature can well attract philatelists in collecting this set of stamp. Hongkong Post will continue to introduce other printing methods and innovative designs to bring philatelists more surprises. Hope this issue will be highly welcomed by the public.

Thank you.

End/Sunday, July 16, 2000

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