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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, at the opening ceremony of the 37th Joint School Science Exhibition today (August 26) (English only):

Kenny, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I am honoured to be invited to attend the opening ceremony of the 37th Joint School Science Exhibition. I can still recall that the first Joint School Science Exhibition was held when I was a student doing among other subjects, General Science, which comprised Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

The theme of this year's exhibition: "Quality Life - Enlightened by Science", is well chosen and relevant to Hong Kong as we all have experience of how scientific inventions have brought us comfort and convenience. Just imagine how we can survive these days without motor cars, mobile phones, television or computers.

As Asia's world city, Hong Kong has been doing our part to advance the development of science and technology. The Government has been playing an important role in fostering a conducive environment for innovation and technology development. These include world-class research facilities in our universities, the Innovation and Technology Fund, the Innovative Product Development Assistance Scheme, the Science Park, and the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute.

Our local science talents have been contributing to improving the quality of life. One of the recent examples is the recognition given to three Hong Kong inventors in the Invention and New Product Exposition 2004 held in the United States. Their inventions of non-organic wood, 3G remote surveillance system, and multiple function electronic crystal ball received awards and medals in the exposition. Their remarkable achievements deserve our applause and bear testimony to the strengths of Hong Kong in the area of science and technology development.

In this connection, I must congratulate the Joint School Science Exhibition Preparatory Committee (JSSEPC) on what you have done over the past four decades in promoting the application of science, scientific research and development.

Einstein said: "Imagination is more important than knowledge." The exhibits on display today demonstrate very well the creativity and imagination of our students. I am particularly interested in one of the exhibits, the "Intelligent Seat-seeker System", which I am sure many of our politicians would like to acquire.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the participating schools on their participation and efforts, and the high standards of their projects. Their hard work will help the advancement of science and technology and I wish them and the JSSEPC every success in their future projects.

Thank you.

Ends/Thursday, August 26, 2004

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