********************************************************
In the past 10 years, goods exports from Washington State to Hong Kong have grown by 450 per cent, according to the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Ms Subrina Chow.
Ms Chow was in Seattle hosting a spring reception in celebration of the Year of the Ram today (March 5, Seattle time). Representatives from local government and business sectors joined the celebration.
Ms Chow took the opportunity to thank businesses in Washington for their ongoing efforts in promoting the export of Washington wine to Hong Kong. Since 2012, there have been three wine missions from Washington to Hong Kong, exhibiting at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair.
In addition to having a vibrant wine business, Hong Kong is also becoming a hot spot for global start-ups. "The number of incubators and co-work spaces in Hong Kong has grown 10 times from three to 30 over the past five years," she said.
Echoing Ms Chow's comments, the Hong Kong Commissioner for Economic and Trade Affairs, USA, Mr Clement Leung, said Hong Kong is working to promote new growth sectors of arbitration, intellectual property trading and creative industries, as well as innovation and technology. "We are upgrading the quality of our workforce as we are facing an ageing population and are making it easier for talented people and entrepreneurs from around the globe to travel, stay, live, work and establish a business there," Mr Leung said.
Mr Leung said he was pleased to see more airlines have opened new direct flights between Hong Kong and various US cities. Beginning last summer, people from Seattle can enjoy non-stop flight services to Hong Kong.
"We continue to press ahead with new infrastructure projects: the high-speed rail link, the 18-mile bridge connecting to Macau and the western part of Guangdong, the third runway for our award-winning airport, a new business district at the old Kai Tak Airport site, and a 100-acre cultural district at the prime waterfront of West Kowloon," he said.
In his remarks at the reception, Mr Leung also touched on the occupy movement in Hong Kong. "While tensions ran high, the movement ended largely peacefully, with ample room for protesters to express their views to the world. This speaks volumes about Hong Kong's civility and the rights and freedoms our citizens enjoy under 'One Country, Two Systems'. Hong Kong is still unique. Our city is still a very special place," he said.
Mr Leung expressed the hope that people in Hong Kong can display pragmatism, flexibility and a can-do spirit to forge a consensus on the implementation of universal suffrage to elect the city's next Chief Executive in 2017 so that 5 million voters will directly elect the next Chief Executive by "one person, one vote".
Ends/Friday, March 6, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:45
NNNN
