********************************

Following is the speech by the Postmaster General, Mr Luk Ping-chuen, at the Issuing Ceremony of the "Rocks of Hong Kong" Special Stamps today (September 15):

Dr LEE, distinguished guests and friends from the media,

Thank you for joining us today at the issuing ceremony of the ¡§Rocks of Hong Kong¡¨ special stamps. We are much honoured to have Dr. Fred LEE, Chairman of Hong Kong Geographical Association, to officiate this function for us.

Crammed with closely packed skyscrapers and high-rise developments, Hong Kong is a sophisticated and cosmopolitan city. Away from the hub, the concrete jungle of this city, you will not be surprised to find that Hong Kong is still a place full of natural wonder scattered with attractive rocks. Today¡¦s special stamps, a set of four issued by us, portray these sublimely elegant and exotic rocks in the territory.

They are the finely-layered siltstone that formed Ping Chau, the Port Island conglomerate, the thick volcanic rock layers (tuff) along the coast of Po Pin Chau and the granite at Lamma Island. These stamps appeal not only to the eyes, but also to the hands because of the tactile coating that achieved with the application of thermography. It is a new attempt, the very first time that we use such printing technology and we are glad to see that the stamps do create the desired tactile stimuli as if genuine rocks are being touched.

This set of stamps is exquisitely printed and vividly shows the beauty of the rocks. I am sure that it will be greatly adored by philatelists and nature lovers. Also, it is really worth collecting.

Thank you.

End/Sunday, September 15, 2002

NNNN