Speech by CS at Ceremony and Photo Exhibition one year since the Great East Japan Earthquake (English only)(with photos/video)

Speech by CS at Ceremony and Photo Exhibition one year since the Great East Japan Earthquake (English only)(with photos/video)
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     Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Stephen Lam, delivered at Ceremony and Photo Exhibition one year since the Great East Japan Earthquake at Exchange Square this afternoon (March 8):

Consul-General (Mr Yuji Kumamaru), friends, ladies and gentlemen,

     We are gathered here today to commemorate the great earthquake which happened on the eastern seaboard of Japan last year on March 11. On the Richter scale, it was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in human history.

     There are three particular aspects that I wish to highlight today.

     First, we pay tribute to the Japanese people for their response to the earthquake and we express our condolences to the victims who suffered and the people who lost families and friends during that earthquake.

     Here in Hong Kong, Consul-General, on the day the earthquake happened and in the days which followed, Hong Kong people saw with a lot of respect the manner in which Japanese people responded to that disaster. Your community has been well trained over the years to anticipate earthquakes and tsunamis. Despite the many challenges which you faced from the tsunami, from the earthquake and from the radioactive leakage, the people of Japan maintained impeccable order.

     For those of us who live in a crowded environment such as Hong Kong, we believe that over the decades, your government, Japanese society and the people of Japan have trained themselves extremely well. This civic order is something which we all wish to emulate.

     Secondly, we also wish to underline the sympathy which went out from the Hong Kong community to Japan and also the immediate responses that we had in response to this earthquake.

     In the days which followed that earthquake, many organisations in Hong Kong volunteered to engage in fundraising events. Many of our NGOs sent teams and supplies to Japan to help with the post-earthquake aftermath work. Within a matter of days, we raised $50 million to be distributed through our NGOs, such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and World Vision. Also, our Hong Kong airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, responded by providing sponsorship in kind. They took freight free of charge to carry supplies to Japan to help with the aftermath work. These efforts are remarkable and memorable in their own right.

     Also, on the part of the Government, we did not hold back. We allocated $5 million through the Disaster Relief Fund. In monetary terms, these efforts may not be particularly significant. But in terms of our response and our care and concern, Consul-General, this marks many decades of strong ties and friendship between the community in Japan and that in Hong Kong.

     This brings me to the third and final point. Over the decades, we in Hong Kong and people in Japan have established extremely strong ties.

     Hong Kong people find Japanese food and culture interesting, and we have great affinity for aspects of Japanese life. After the earthquake and with new soft radioactive leakage, for a few months, there was a drop in tourism to Japan and some of the Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong suffered in terms of patronage.

     I am pleased to note that tourism – outgoing traffic from Hong Kong to Japan – has largely been restored to pre-earthquake levels. I believe this will continue because over the decades we have developed our tastes both for your food and for Japanese products and fashion. These strong ties will undoubtedly continue.

     Consul-General, you showed me some of the photographs in the exhibition around this hall just now. I would say that in terms of reconstruction, Japan has done quite well. Within one month, Sendai airport was operational again. The earthquake happened in March, and by April your bullet train station in Sendai was also operational.

     You also showed me the photographs with a solidarity pine tree. I think this stands for the resolve of the Japanese society in coping with the earthquake and its aftermath. The next picture showing the cherry blossom also marks the further blooming of life in Japan after the earthquake. I believe this is something which all your friends in Hong Kong and around the world would like Japan to experience.

     Long may friendship between Japan and Hong Kong last and grow, We in Hong Kong wish you steady progress in the reconstruction of Japan.

     Thank you very much.

Ends/Thursday, March 8, 2012
Issued at HKT 21:05

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