***********************************************************
The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peopleˇ¦s Congress, Mr Wu Bangguo, arrived in Hong Kong at noon today (December 2) at the invitation of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) Government to officiate at the ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 opening ceremony and welcome reception.
He was greeted at the airport by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang. About 140 primary students from the Tung Chung Lin Liang Church Sau Tak Primary School gave Mr Wu an enthusiastic welcome. Two of the students presented him with a bouquet of flowers.
Also in the welcoming party were the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Rafael Hui; Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang; Secretary for Justice, Mr Wong Yan Lung; President of the Legislative Council, Mrs Rita Fan and Convenor of the Executive Council, Mr Leung Chun-ying.
Speaking to the media at the airport, Mr Wu said the ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 was the Olympia of the telecommunications sector, and this was the first time in 36 years that the event had been held outside Geneva. He said it showed that the sector worldwide had a very positive outlook for Hong Kong and the Mainland.
He believed that exchanges and co-operation among Hong Kong, the Mainland and multi-national companies of the sector would be enhanced through this event.
Mr Wu said he was pleased to see that with the concerted efforts of the SAR Government and various sectors, Hong Kong now enjoyed social stability, the economy was growing and peopleˇ¦s livelihood had improved.
He added that though he had a very tight schedule, he would try his best to meet different sections of the community and personally experience the changes in Hong Kong over the years. He thanked the SAR Government for the visit arrangements and sent his regards to the people of Hong Kong.
This visit to Hong Kong is Mr Wuˇ¦s first since he took up the present post. On this same day six years ago (December 2, 2000), he visited Hong Kong in his capacity as Vice Premier and officiated at the opening ceremony of the ITU Telecom Asia 2000.
The ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 is hosted by the HKSAR. An opening ceremony will be held tomorrow (December 3) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre while other events of the expo will be held from December 4 to 8 at AsiaWorld-Expo.
Ends/Saturday, December 2, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:58
NNNN
Windows Media format
Real Media format