The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, today (April 7) met with the Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, Mr Gou Zhongwen, in Beijing, to discuss the direction of co-operation on sports development.
    
     Mr Lau said, "Hong Kong and the Mainland are undertaking more frequent sports exchanges and co-operation in various aspects. We expect to continue to deepen the enhanced arrangements, covering all aspects from youth exchange activities to high-level competitions to promote sports development in Hong Kong"
     The Commissioner for Sports, Mr Yeung Tak-keung, and members of the Hong Kong sports sector including the President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, Mr Timothy Fok; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited, Dr Lam Tai-fai, and Legislative Council member, Mr Ma Fung-kwok, also joined the visit to Beijing.

     The delegation met with the Vice President and General Secretary of the Chinese Football Association, Mr Zhang Jian, to exchange views on football development. They then visited the Training Centre of the General Administration of Sport of China and Beijing Sport University to learn about the training of elite athletes.
     
     This afternoon, Mr Lau called on the Director General of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Culture, Mr Xie Jinying, to discuss strengthening cultural interaction between Hong Kong and the Mainland, co-organising more activities, providing more opportunities to stage performances by Hong Kong performing arts groups on the Mainland and enhancing youth cultural exchange.

     In the evening, Mr Lau and the delegation will watch a performance by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre at the Lyric Theater of the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, giving their support to Hong Kong arts groups performing on the Mainland. Mr Lau will return to Hong Kong tomorrow morning (April 8).

Ends/Friday, April 7, 2017
Issued at HKT 17:00

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