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Following is a speech by the Postmaster General, Mr Allan Chiang, at the "Pet Fish" Special Stamps Issuing Ceremony cum Children Stamps Design Competition 2003 Award Presentation today (August 7):

Kelly, boys and girls, distinguished guests and friends from the media,

Thank you very much for joining us today.

How nice it is to see so many lovely young faces here! How's your holiday? Are you exhausted with all those summer activities? Anyway, it must be great fun to be away from school, away from your hectic schoolwork for a while. Today, we are honoured to have Miss Kelly Chen who is also our philately ambassador to be here with us, though this presentation gets nothing to do with awards of pop music. Let's give our big hands to Kelly.

This year, we are delighted that a total of 5 680 entries were received. A big jump of nearly 40%. The most common subject matters among the entries are classic games like scissors-paper-rock, hopscotch, chess games and bubble blowing, which every one of us must be indulged in when we were kids. These fun-filled games that could be played with friends and family cost you just a few dimes. So do philately. Little doubt is that they are still popular among you. Stamp collecting is a good pastime that let you know more outside the curriculum. When you start collecting stamps, you are trained in a way that you become more patient and more perseverant. You know how to get things done in a step-by-step manner. As you know more about the world we live from the stamps, you are more learned. Most important of all, you will never be too old to carry on, just like rearing pet fish. If you like it, you may keep on with such leisure pursuits even at the age of seventies or eighties. Turning to the Pet Fish Special Stamps that we issue today, the special fish-shaped die-cut on every stamp is really cute. It is indeed a fish-shaped opening on the stamp whose colour changes as the backdrop of envelope changes. Isn't that smart?

With your participation in this competition, I think you should already have an idea how interesting stamp design could be; though everybody's mileage may vary. But to the winners of the four grand prizes, they must be overjoyed because their designs are going to be adopted for next year's Children Stamps. If you are still an outsider of this pursuit, may I persuade you to get started right now? The excitement and the sense of fulfillment could only be experienced if you were one of them. If the world of philately is still an uncharted mystery to you, let's take this set of stamps for your maiden voyage. As you explore, you may be inspired and enlightened. A wonderful idea may come up all of a sudden and drive you heading for the 5th Inter-school Stamp Exhibits Competition. Anyway, let me draw your attention to one fabulous arrangement - all entries in the coming competition are given the chance to be displayed in the HONG KONG 2004 Stamp Expo. Hongkong Post has all along been committed to promote philately. We hold seminars and game sessions during school visits. We expect the upcoming Stamp Expo to be a success and hope more and more people, grown-ups and kids alike, will be fantasized by this wonderful leisure pursuit. Looking forward to seeing you or your works in the upcoming exhibition.

Thank you very much.

End/Thursday, August 7, 2003

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