***********************************************************
A veteran political leader from Hong Kong, Ms Maria Tam, spoke in Vancouver, Canada, today (May 24, Vancouver time) to local students and community leaders on how the Hong Kong mini-constitution - the Basic Law - maintains the continuous prosperity and vibrancy of Hong Kong. Ms Tam is a member of the Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee (BLPSC) and Convenor of the Working Group on Overseas Community of the BLPSC of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
At a dinner event in Vancouver, Ms Tam spoke to about 80 university students and community leaders on the importance of the Hong Kong Basic Law which provides a legal framework to ensure that Hong Kong continues to be a free, vibrant, international city for living, work and travel.
Ms Tam said, "Hong Kong is still the same Hong Kong after its sovereignty was returned to China in 1997. Under the governance of the Basic Law, Hong Kong people enjoy all aspects of freedom, and English remains to be one of the official languages. Hong Kong is still a friendly place for foreign students, talents, travellers, businessmen and investors."
Before the dinner, a debate organised by the British Columbia Chinese Debate Alliance and supported by the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (HKETO) was held. Debate teams were represented by students from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. A Basic Law-related subject was the topic of the debate. Ms Tam, along with Director of the HKETO in Canada Ms Maureen Siu and six other community leaders from various professions, were invited as adjudicators. The winning team was awarded with a "Hong Kong Cup" presented by Ms Tam.
Ms Siu said after the debate that "I was impressed by the brilliant performance of the student debaters today. They have demonstrated good knowledge of Hong Kong's current affairs and the importance of the Basic Law to Hong Kong."
Ends/Monday, May 25, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:16
NNNN