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Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, at the Bestowal Ceremony of the Merit Cross of the Order of Merit for Danny Yung at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts today (February 13):
Consul General (Frank Burbach), Dr (Hans-Georg) Knopp (General Secretary of the Goethe-Institut), Danny (Yung), Distinguished Guests, Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is indeed my great pleasure to be here tonight to celebrate the success of our friend and artistic mastermind Danny Yung.
I am delighted that the Federal Republic of Germany has bestowed upon him one of the country's highest awards, the "Merit Cross of the Order of Merit".
This accolade is in recognition of Danny's enormous contribution to strengthening relations between Hong Kong and Germany, in particular in the area of arts and culture.
Many of us know Danny as a multi-talented artist who enjoys testing the boundaries of his profession as a director, producer, scriptwriter and stage designer.
I happen to know Danny as a friend who has contributed greatly to Hong Kong's arts and cultural field and also comes from the same village as me.
Over the years, he has been involved in more than 100 theatrical productions. In 2000, he was a driving force behind an ambitious series of cross-cultural festivals and conferences in Berlin and Hong Kong.
More importantly, he has recognised and harnessed the power of the arts in bringing people together around the world and promoting Hong Kong's rich culture to audiences overseas.
Danny's work and passion for the arts on and off the stage is well known in Hong Kong - as seen in his founding membership of the Arts Development Council and being the first chairman of the Arts Education Committee.
I am particularly pleased that Danny is a member of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. His experience, knowledge and broad outlook on the arts are exactly the qualities we are looking for in mapping out the direction for this exciting new project. The "Merit Cross of the Order of Merit" underscores Danny's ability to connect with the international community and promote Hong Kong as an international city and an arts hub in Asia. I am confident that his insights and global network in the field will help to ensure the success of the cultural district.
And I emphasise that the success of the cultural district is not just a holistic mixture of architectural buildings, but actually of who uses it, the software behind it, the development of Hong Kongˇ¦s arts and cultural field.
I am delighted to congratulate Danny on this award. I also thank him for his work in building bridges between Hong Kong and Germany through the arts.
I look forward to you (Danny Yung) continuing to build and strengthen those ties, and to help us on that front.
I wish you all an enjoyable evening.
Thank you.
Ends/Friday, February 13, 2009
Issued at HKT 21:36
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