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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) Delegation to the Shanghai World Expo (Shanghai Expo) concluded its three-day visit today (May 10) after touring around two Urban Best Practices Areas (UBPAs), two Corporate Pavilions and three Pavilions of other foreign countries on the last day of the visit.
Speaking before leaving Shanghai, the President of LegCo and leader of the delegation, Hon Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, described the visit as fruitful and rewarding. He said that the visit had enabled Members to understand how Hong Kong was featured in the Shanghai Expo after gaining first-hand experience about the Hong Kong (HK) Pavilion and the HK UBPA.
The delegation began today's programme by visiting the HK UBPA. The exhibition inside the UBPA features the smart card systems which have been adopted in the community to demonstrate how HK extensively uses innovative ways and technology to improve efficiency in daily city life, promotes connectivity within the city and other parts of the world. Various smart card applications like payment transaction and conservation of environment, as well as the new applications of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology were also an important part of the exhibition.
Inside the HK UBPA, the Delegation was first given a briefing by Ms Elizabeth Tse, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, on the theme of the HK UBPA -- "Smart Card. Smart City. Smart Life", followed by the showing of an interactive video on a 360-degree circular screen on and the display of the application of RFID technology on 14 different vertical LED panels. Through interactive portals, some Members took part in real-time video chat with some staff in Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong International Airport.
Another UBPA the Delegation visited was Macau's five-storey building which featured an old pawn shop and also displayed multi-media technologies. After visiting the Macau UBPAs, Members stopped by two Corporate Pavilions to get to know more about the businesses and future developments of these enterprises. Members also visited the Pavilions of European Union, United Kingdom and the USA before returning to HK at night.
In rounding up the visit, Mr Tsang said that all Members found the visit meaningful and successful. Of the 15 Pavilions visited by the Delegation, each pavilion had its own characteristics and special features.
When asked to comment on the HK Pavilion and HK UBPA, Mr Tsang reiterated that both the Pavilion and UBPA had already made very good use of resources available. "The exhibitions in the Pavilion and UBPA do convey to visitors the way we make use of technologies on our everyday life and project HK as a city of vitality and move," he added.
"So when compared with the other pavilions we have seen, I don't think that we have any reasons to believe that the HK Pavilion and UBPA falls short of expectation of visitors," Mr Tsang said.
The funding of $114.5 million for the design and construction of the HK Pavilion was approved by the LegCo Finance Committee (FC) in June 2008. The FC also approved $201 million non-recurrent commitment to provide financial support for the HKSAR's participation in the Shanghai Expo, including the operation of the HK Pavilion, the design and participation in UBPA exhibitions and other related activities during the exhibition period.
The delegation consists of 42 Members, including Mr Tsang as the leader and Hon Miriam Lau Kin-yee, Chairman of the House Committee, as the deputy leader. During the three-day visit, Members had taken the Express Rail Link from Guangzhou to Wuhan to understand more about the operation and development of the Express Rail Link on the Mainland. They also visited different pavilions in the Expo Park, including the China Pavilion, the HK Pavilion, the Theme Pavilions and Pavilions of other countries.
Ends/Monday, May 10, 2010
Issued at HKT 23:51
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