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Approaching Christmas, we hear "Ho, ho, ho" and "Merry Christmas" everywhere.

At Hongkong Post, however, "Linking People, Delivering Business" is the greeting that staff are sending to their customers this festive season.

At today's media conference on the "Letters to Santa" service, the Postmaster General, Mr Allan Chiang, reminded Hong Kong people that now is the perfect time to get "linked up" with each other through writing.

According to Mr Chiang, Hongkong Post has been acting as Santa Claus's first-class helper at Christmas for more than 20 years. As the link between Santa and Hong Kong citizens, Hongkong Post delivers about 2,000 letters and cards to Santa every year - proof of the continuing popularity of Father Christmas and the spirit of goodwill.

"Christmas is the busiest time for our postmen. They will be merrily running around for Santa Claus and our customers, delivering messages and packages on time in spite of the surge in work that goes hand-in-hand with the Christmas season each year," said Mr Chiang, who joined postmen wearing Christmas hats next to a Hongkong Post van bearing the new "Linking People, Delivering Business" slogan.

"Compared with the high-tech nature of email, there's no doubt that letters and cards send a far more personal and touching greeting. Not surprisingly, they are still the preferred medium to convey warm and hearty greetings to those we care about at special times like Christmas and New Year. The recipient feels closer to the sender when holding something tangible that contains a handwritten greeting," said Mr Chiang.

"Notwithstanding the advent of the digital era, Hongkong Post handles an ever-increasing volume of mail thanks to its augmented business activities. The total annual volume of mail handled has increased from 300 million items three decades ago to more than 1.2 billion today. The number of post offices has grown from 72 to 132 during the same period.

"To cope with rising demand for business support services, in tandem with 'Linking People', Hongkong Post is also keen to be 'Delivering Business' for our customers. Leveraging on our sales and delivery network, the new services that Hongkong Post offers include Circular Service, which provides a cost-effective direct-marketing channel, ticketing services and trade declaration services via the Internet.

"These new initiatives not only offer more service options for individuals and businesses, but are important in subsidising the local mail and parcel services. In order to continue to provide low-cost, high-quality and reliable postal services, Hongkong Post must better utilise its resources to achieve a robust trading fund and sustained development.

"Last but not least, Santa Claus has asked me to convey to all Hong Kong citizens his Christmas wishes for a strong economic rebound. We at Hongkong Post will adhere to our purpose of linking people and delivering business to bring people and businesses closer to each other. And we are looking forward to seeing a harmonious and robust society in Hong Kong in the coming year."

Requests made to Santa Claus vary widely - from a pregnant mother looking forward to delivering a happy and healthy baby, to students keen to achieve good examination results, and children curious to know where Santa lives.

With the help of Hongkong Post, all will receive a reply from Santa. Some are such regular correspondents, writing to the big man in red each year, that they become penpals of Santa. And, of course, Santa has fans all over the world, including the Mainland, Europe and the US, many of whom are collectors of Santa Claus replies from various postal service providers around the world.

Ends/Friday, December 19, 2003

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