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The Permanent Secretary for Education, Mr Raymond H C Wong, today (September 22) officiated at the National Day Extravaganza 2010 organised by the Education Bureau.
Speaking at the extravaganza, Mr Wong said that this was the first time Shenzhen and Hong Kong had organised the National Day Extravaganza in Hong Kong. This, he said, has added a new dimension to collaboration between the two places' exchanges in arts and education.
He said,"The Education Bureau of the HKSAR has attached great importance to nurturing students' sense of national identity and has proactively promoted national education through offering opportunities for students to understand the history, culture and developments of the Mainland.
"Apart from strengthening the national education elements in various academic subjects, we also foster students' sense of national identity by arranging visits and on-site studies to learn about Chinese culture and our country's major achievements.
"So far, we have arranged three batches of students totalling 8,200 in number to visit various cities on the Mainland.
"To deepen teachers' understanding of the motherland and enhance their effectiveness in promoting national education, we arrange, on a regular basis, teachers' professional exchanges on the Mainland.
"We welcome our Mainland counterparts and students to come to Hong Kong for mutual exchanges."
Featuring singing, dancing, wind and drum music, lion dances and Beijing opera by more than 300 students from Hong Kong and Shenzhen primary and secondary schools, the extravaganza held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium was attended by about 2,000 students from some 40 Hong Kong schools.
Also officiating at the extravaganza were Ms Dong Cuidi, the Deputy Director General of the Education, Science and Technology Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR; Ms Guo Yurong, the Director, Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau; Mr Song Bo, the Director, Office for Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs, Ministry of Education, The People's Republic of China; Ms Michelle Li, the Deputy Secretary for Education, the Government of the Hong Kong SAR Education Bureau; Mrs Michelle Wong, the Deputy Secretary for Education, the Government of the Hong Kong SAR Education Bureau; Mr Tang Haihai, the Deputy Director, Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau; and Ms Cao Saixian, the Deputy Director, Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau.
Ends/Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:56
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