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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO) greeted the Year of the Monkey by hosting a Chinese New Year reception in London on February 17 and participating in the large-scale London Chinatown Chinese New Year celebration in Trafalgar Square, Chinatown and Shaftesbury Avenue on February 14.
The Director-General of the London ETO, Ms Priscilla To, welcomed several hundreds of friends of Hong Kong at the Chinese New Year reception on February 17. Amongst the guests at the reception were UK government officials, parliamentarians, mayors from various London Boroughs, senior diplomats, leading figures in the business world and media representatives.
Speaking at the reception, Ms To updated guests on Hong Kong's latest economic performance, and highlighted Hong Kong's unique advantages of "one country, two systems" and other fundamentals in the face of uncertain world economic outlook this year. She also introduced to guests the latest initiatives of the Hong Kong Government to deepen and broaden Hong Kong pillar industries as well as the effort in diversifying Hong Kong economic activities.
Emphasising Hong Kong as a liveable city, Ms To said, "Hong Kong is not just a city for business. We are a welcoming city, we love to welcome new visitors and old friends coming back. We have been working hard to ensure that Hong Kong is a good place to live in and travel to."
"Our ongoing West Kowloon Cultural District project - one of the largest cultural developments worldwide – will create a vibrant cultural quarter for the city, a vital platform for the local arts scene to interact, develop and collaborate, and major facilities to host and produce world-class exhibitions, performances and events," she continued.
The reception featured a performance by the Hong Kong music group Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble, which played a variety of traditional-style music pieces on Chinese music instruments, as well as a lion dance.
On February 14, the London ETO took part in the large-scale annual London Chinatown Chinese New Year celebration, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. With the support of the London ETO, Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble also performed on the main Chinese New Year celebration stage in Trafalgar Square.
This year also sees the London ETO run its own marquee in the square to promote Hong Kong, with thousands of visitors coming by to learn about Hong Kong's culture and to enjoy traditional Hong Kong games. Apart from the main celebration stage, the London ETO also sponsored another stage dubbed "Hong Kong in London Chinatown" in Shaftesbury Avenue, where Ms To greeted the audience and conveyed Chinese New Year wishes to them.
The London ETO will continue to co-host Chinese New Year receptions in Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo, Norway in February and March.
Ends/Friday, February 19, 2016
Issued at HKT 01:48
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