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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at a media standup in Vancouver today (October 23, Vancouver time):
Chief Executive: I left Hong Kong yesterday, Saturday, and today is Sunday and this is my first working day. I have used this opportunity to talk to the erstwhile Hong Kong residents who are here and who are very anxious to know the latest developments in Hong Kong. They are very instrumental, I suppose, in the flow of investments into Hong Kong so I met them, and talked to them over the radio, and also met the media here.
This evening the Premier of British Columbia will host a dinner for me and the Governor of Guangdong Province and we are going to have a meeting as well. The theme of our discussion would be the rising opportunities for business in the Pearl River Delta and the Pan-Pearl River Delta area. This should be a quite interesting discussion.
Tomorrow, on Monday, that would be the main fixture of my coming to Vancouver, that would be a joint promotion by ourselves and the Governor of Guangdong Province to outline the rising opportunities that are arising in the Pearl River Delta generally and how they would offer new business opportunities for businessmen in Canada. Our seminar will be participated by other people as well, by the Federal Minister of Industry here, together with our Ambassador coming here particularly for this occasion from Ottawa.
Reporter: You are here in Canada, so why is Canada important?
Chief Executive: Canada is important because it is a major trading partner of Hong Kong and there are also a lot of Canadians living in Hong Kong. There are nearly a quarter of million Canadians living in Hong Kong and half a million Hong Kong residents have relations of one kind or another with Canada. So this is an important partner for us.
So it is important, from my point of view, to continue these strong ties with a view to attracting more Canadian investment and businessmen to come to Hong Kong to trade and invest. And I think they should need up-to-date information about Hong Kong and about the increasing opportunities that exist in areas around Hong Kong, including the Pearl River Delta and the nine provinces near Hong Kong. And this is the main purpose of my promotion exercise here conducted together with the Governor of Guangdong Province.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, October 24, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:40
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