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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
To mark the opening of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Complex, LegCo held a two-day Open Day which started today (February 11) and will continue tomorrow (February 12) for members of the public. The first day of the event attracted a total of more than 3 000 visitors. The President of LegCo, Mr Jasper Tsang, hoped that through the Open Day, members of the public would get to know more about the facilities of the LegCo Complex and better understand the work and functions of LegCo.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Open Day, Mr Tsang said that the LegCo Complex was a purpose-built building to house the Hong Kong Legislature and belonged to the people of Hong Kong. The design theme of the LegCo Complex aimed to project the independent, transparent and dignified image of the Legislature, as symbolically represented by "heaven being round and earth being square" of the Chinese tradition.
He said that the LegCo Complex had introduced a series of environmentally-friendly and energy saving measures to help protect the environment and also adopted barrier-free access design to facilitate users of the Complex. In addition, a number of artworks were displayed in the Complex to enrich the cultural life of the Hong Kong city and the public.
Mr Tsang was joined by the Chairman of the House Committee, Ms Miriam Lau; and Deputy Chairman of the House Committee, Mr Fred Li; in officiating at the opening ceremony of the Open Day. Besides, Dr Margaret Ng, Mr Lau Kong-wah, Mr Tam Yiu-chung, Mr Lee Wing-tat, Dr Joseph Lee, Professor Patrick Lau, Ms Starry Lee, Mr Wong Sing-chi, Mr Ip Kwok-him, Mr Paul Tse and Mr Alan Leong, also attended the opening ceremony. Some Members participated in the guided tours to introduce to visitors the conference and educational facilities of the LegCo Complex and explain how legislators perform their duties in these venues. Some Members met with the public in the game booths. Other Members took photos with the public in the photo corner.
During the day, a total of 87 guided tours comprising around 3 100 visitors were conducted. Through joining the guided tour, members of the public visited the conference and educational facilities in the LegCo Complex, including the Chamber, Ante-Chamber, Dining hall, conference rooms, Viewing Gallery, Memory Lane and Education Gallery.
Furthermore, an exhibition corner and a number of game booths, namely "Color-it-yourself", "Build the LegCo together", "How many current LegCo Members do you know?", "Let's build our community", "Guess and match" and "Q & A corner", were set up to let visitors understand more about LegCo and its Members in a more enjoyable and leisurely way.
A photo corner with the backdrops of the LegCo Complex and the Chamber was set up for Members to meet the public and took photos with them. A souvenir booth was also set up in the LegCo Square to provide a selection of LegCo souvenirs.
Meanwhile, the LegCo Secretariat arranged today 16 sessions of performances in different time slots at the Main Lobby of the LegCo Complex to create a more joyful atmosphere. The performances included lion dance, marching band parade, harmonica ensemble, choir and handbell ensemble, Chinese instrumental ensemble and magic show.
The LegCo Complex Open Day will continue tomorrow. Members of the public are welcome to join.
Ends/Saturday, February 11, 2012
Issued at HKT 20:54
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