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The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, today (May 29) witnessed the signing of a memorandum of collaboration between the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) and five training and research institutes on the Mainland for elite athletes. The memorandum is aimed at strengthening co-operation between the two places in the preparation for large-scale sports events.
Mr Tsang said the Government had been encouraging and supporting exchange between local sports sector and elite athletes on the Mainland and abroad. In 2004, the Home Affairs Bureau reached an agreement on sports exchange and co-operation with the General Administration of Sport of China.
"The signing of the memorandum today aims to enhance co-operation in the area of elite sports between Hong Kong and the Mainland," Mr Tsang said, adding that the broadening of the platform of co-operation would further enable the two sides to complement each other and share resources, which were also the development strategies of elite sports.
Mr Tsang hoped that the HKSI and the Mainland sports institutes could deepen co-operation in four areas to train more elite athletes. These areas were scientific research on competitive sports, sports medicine support, training of athletes and technical personnel, and information-sharing of international sports.
"As Hong Kong is hosting the 2009 East Asian Games (EAG) this year, I hope the deepening of our co-operation with the Mainland will facilitate local elite athletes to better prepare themselves for the EAG, the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games for the attainment of greater honour for the motherland," he said.
Signing the memorandum today with the HKSI were five Mainland sports institutes - China Institute of Sport Science, National Institute of Sports Medicine, Beijing Sport University, Wuhan Institute of Physical Education and Chengdu Sport University.
Ends/Friday, May 29, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:38
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