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Following is the speech by the Acting Postmaster General, Mr Chan Yau-fung, at the "Children's Stamps - Bunny Fun and Games" Special Stamps issuing ceremony today (March 22):
Distinguished Guests, Friends from the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning and welcome to the "Children's Stamps - Bunny Fun and Games" Special Stamps Issuing Ceremony and 2007 "Children Stamps - Paper Folding Fun Design Competition" Award Presentation.
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First of all, I would like to thank the Chairman of the Commission on Youth, Dr Philemon Choi, for taking time out from his busy schedule to officiate the special stamps issuing ceremony. With the Children's Day and Easter holiday just around the corner, Hongkong Post issues today a new set of children's stamps, aiming at stimulating the little ones' interest in philately and encouraging them to take up this healthy pastime during their holiday.
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The six stamps in today's issue come in delightful colours to accentuate the freshness of spring and spread the joy of Easter. This is the first time Hongkong Post has incorporated favourite games of children such as "Spot the Differences" and "Trace Your Way Out" in the stamp design. These lovely and attractive stamps allow children to think and explore while playing, and parents can join in their children to solve these brain teasers, thereby achieving a harmonious family relationship.
By immersing in the world of stamps, children can be nurtured in their intelligence and imagination while developing their creative ideas. To encourage our youngsters to stretch their creativity, we organised the "Children's Stamps - Paper Folding Fun Design Competition" in December last year. The competition welcomes not only primary students, but also the bigger ones from the newly added Secondary School Division and Family Division, giving everyone an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and design talent. Some 1,400 entries were received for the competition with many of them being highly creative and outstanding. I believe that the participants should already know how interesting and enjoyable it can be to design stamps. After meticulous selection and adjudication, winners are chosen for the 30 awards. The prize presentation ceremony is especially held alongside the special stamps issuing ceremony attended by so many distinguished guests, I hope that the origami talents here will be able to feel the terrific atmosphere of a stamp issuing day.
In closing, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the adjudicators and the prize presenters, and wish all of you a happy Easter. Thank you.
Ends/Thursday, March 22, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:02
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