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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council held an Open Day of the Legislative Council Building today (November 29) from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. The event was attended by 3,773 visitors.
Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, President of the Legislative Council, Miriam Lau Kin-yee, Chairman of the House Committee, and Fred Li Wah-ming, Deputy Chairman of the House Committee, were invited to officiate at an opening ceremony at 9:30 am to mark the start of the event.
During the event, a total of 63 guided tours comprising 3,773 visitors were conducted. Visitors were introduced to the work of the Legislative Council and were briefed on the functions of various facilities inside the Legislative Council Building, including the Chamber, the Ante-Chamber, the President・s Office and the Secretary General・s Office, the three Conference Rooms, the Press Conference Room, the Press Room, the Dining Hall and Members・ Rooms.
A total of 24 Members of the Legislative Council took part in today・s event. Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, Miriam Lau Kin-yee and Fred Li Wah-ming assisted in conducting guided tours to introduce to visitors the facilities of the venues and explain how legislators perform their work in these venues. Some Members were stationed in the Chamber, the Ante-Chamber and Conference Room A and B to receive visitors. Other Members met the public and took photos with them in the photo corner outside the LegCo Building.
Some new initiatives were introduced this year to promote the civic education, including an exhibition booth, interactive computer games and flash presentation on the work of the Legislative Council. The new and enhanced ：Civic Education Corner； was also launched today.
To foster a more joyful and pleasant atmosphere for the event, three matching bands were arranged by the LegCo Secretariat to perform outside the Building at 9:10 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm respectively. The three marching bands were the ：SSY Ho Ngai College Marching Band；, the ：HK & Kln Kai Fong Women・s Association Sun Fong Chung Primary School (A.M. & W.D.) Marching Band； and the ：Combined Band of Hong Kong Vigor Marching Band and HK & KLN Kai Fong Women・s Association Sun Fong Chung College；. Chan Kam-lam, Chan Tanya and Dr Pan Pey-chyou presented souvenirs to the marching bands respectively after the performance.
The LegCo Building Open Day has been held for eleven years. The main purpose of the event is to enable members of the public to understand the work of the Legislative Council and to visit the 96-year-old historical Building.
Ends/Saturday, November 29, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:47
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