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The Home Affairs Bureau and the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee and Sports Association for the Physically Disabled jointly held the "300-day Countdown to Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games" in So Kwun Wat, Tuen Mun, today (November 11), marking the launch of a series of activities to promote the Paralympic and Olympic Games.
Officiating at the countdown activity, the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Mrs Carrie Yau, said the Government would now gradually step up its publicity efforts to promote the 2008 Paralympic and Olympic Games. These would include staging celebration activities to tie in with significant dates of the Paralympic and Olympic Games, the launching of city dress-up and publicity programmes and promoting the concept of "A Society for All".
She also said the Government would seize the opportunity to increase community understanding of the sports in which disabled athletes participate and she appealed to people to take part in various Paralympic and Olympic Games celebration and education activities with the goal of achieving equal splendour for the two Games.
While celebrating the 300-day countdown to the Beijing Paralympic Games, the occasion also marked the finish of "Oxfam Trailwalker 2007", which shared the same spirit of perseverance with the Paralympic Games.
Other officiating guests today were Chairman of the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee and Sports Association for the Physically Disabled, Mrs Jenny Fung; Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Equestrian Company, Ms Miranda Chiu; Council member of Oxfam Hong Kong and Chairman of Board of Governors of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Equestrian Events Hong Kong Fund, Ms Elsie Leung; Chairman of Oxfam Trailwalker Advisory Committee, Mr Bernard Chan; and Director General of Oxfam Hong Kong Mr John Sayer.
Three Hong Kong disabled athletes - wheelchair fencing's Yu Chui-yee, So Wa-wai of athletic events and Nelson Yip of para-equestrian events - who participated in the "Oxfam Trailwalker" this year - also attended the ceremony.
The Para-equestrian Events of the Paralympics will be staged in Hong Kong from September 7–11, 2008.
Ends/Sunday, November 11, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:46
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