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Following is the speech by the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Henry Tang, at the Opening Ceremony of Entertainment Expo Hong Kong today (March 17):
Jack (So), Fred (Lam), Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening. It is indeed my great pleasure to welcome you to the opening of the Hong Kong Entertainment Expo 2008.
I am so delighted to see all of you to come from overseas to this year・s Expo. Let me extend a very warm welcome to all our friends from around the region and from overseas. This event is truly a great opportunity to showcase our creative talents, especially as it coincides with the Asian Film Awards. It also provides a very good platform for leaders of entertainment industry to exchange views with each other and to explore new opportunities.
Our entertainment industry has been a great source of pleasure and a great pride for all of us. In the last three years alone, we exported nearly $3 billion worth of films and picked up more than 100 awards at international film festivals and competitions worldwide. More importantly, our films, our music and our television remain an important part of this great city・s cosmopolitan make-up.
Last year Hong Kong was chosen as a location for shooting four international films, including the new Batman movie, ：The Dark Knight；. We had a low flying plane through our stunning harbour and the Caped Crusader caused quite a stir whenever it appeared in downtown Hong Kong.
At the end of last year we rolled out digital TV, just in time for people to enjoy, in High Definition, the Beijing Olympics and the Equestrian events that we will be hosting this summer.
The government is taking every possible measure to promote Hong Kong・s entertainment sector in a vibrant and competitive environment.
Last year we set up the Film Development Council to advance our film industry in areas such as promotion, development and support.
And also last year, we injected $300 million into the Film Development Fund to help finance small to medium productions. We look forward to seeing some results soon.
At the same time, we are working very hard to protect intellectual property rights through a comprehensive legal framework and we back it up with robust enforcement, so creativity and innovation are protected, and they will continue to be a driving force for the industry.
We have also sealed a free trade pact with the Mainland that enables companies in Hong Kong to enjoy greater access to Mainland, including the vast entertainment market. In each of the past two years, nine out of the 10 biggest box office hits in the Mainland were co-productions with Hong Kong partners.
I・m pleased to see that some of them are in the running for an award tonight. I wish you good luck.
Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude I would like to thank the organisers, in particular the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, for your hard work for staging this event.
I wish you all a successful and enjoyable Entertainment Expo 2008. Thank you.
Ends/Monday, March 17, 2008
Issued at HKT 22:10
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