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Following is a speech by the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mrs Carrie Yau, at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Information Infrastructure Expo & Conference 2001 today (February22):
Mr Sze, Mr Bouchard, Ms Zhao, Mr Rho, Mr Yang, ladies & gentlemen,
It is an honour and a great pleasure for me to share the rostrum this morning with our distinguished guests from Canada, Korea, Beijing and Guangzhou to officiate the opening of the Information Infrastructure Exposition & Conference 2001.
The Hong Kong Information Infrastructure Expo is an annual event which aims to promote Hong Kong as the region's communications and IT hub, as well as to foster closer ties between the IT and telecoms sectors of Hong Kong and other parts of the world. This year's Expo comes hot on the heels of another major IT and telecom event hosted in this very venue last December - ITU Telecom Asia 2000, which was hailed as the most successful ITU event the region has even seen.
Today, I am very pleased to once again see such a prominent and influential gathering of local and international IT entrepreneurs, professionals and advocates converging to Hong Kong for this event. I believe this not only reflects our buoyant e-culture and our position as a leading digital city in the region, but also underlines Hong Kong's craving to learn and experience new and innovative technologies.
Since its inauguration in 1998, the Hong Kong Information Infrastructure Expo and Conference has evolved into one of the region's major IT events. This year, we expect to attract more than 130,000 professional and individual visitors over the next four days. The event has become much more international with exhibitors and IT missions from the United States, Canada, the Mainland of China, Europe, Israel, Korea and the ASEAN economies. The Expo has proved itself to be a valuable opportunity for business partnering and a showcase of technology that offers valuable insights into the latest development in the industry.
This year's Expo embraces nine themes that highlight different aspects of IT and telecommunications developments, including e-learning, technology showcase, e-Government and infrastructure, Internet services, integrated telecommunications, e-commerce/m-commerce, portals, software and multimedia products, and the global IT community. No matter what sector you're from, there is bound to be something that catches your interest.
I must also take this opportunity to thank the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for its fine work in co-organising this event with my Bureau. Events such as the Expo ties in well with the Government's plans to promote the wider use of IT in the community. I believe that the success of the Expo will further strengthen Hong Kong's profile as the information technology and telecommunications hub in the Asia-Pacific region. I hope you will have a very fruitful and successful Expo and that you thoroughly enjoy all that Hong Kong can offer.
Thank you.
End/Thursday, February 22, 2001
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