2000 Business and Tech Mission to U.S. and Canada
A Better Hong Kong Foundation delegation visited Canada and the United States where they met with government officials, congressmen, policy advisors and business leaders to discuss Hong Kong issues. The discussions focused on technology, financial trends and the economic outlook of Hong Kong in the face of China’s imminent accession to the World Trade Organization. The Better Hong Kong Foundation organizes two to three delegations of this nature to North America each year to promote Hong Kong as an international business centre.
The mission, led by The Hon. Nellie Fong, Executive Councillor of the HKSAR and Chairman of the Foundation’s Executive Committee, visited Toronto, Canada, and Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley and San Francisco in the U.S. from January 27 to February 5, 2000. The delegation was composed of prominent Hong Kong industrialists, CEOs from the IT sector and leading members of the financial and legal community – including Mr. Anthony Au, Dr. Cheng Wen Cheng, Mr. Raymond Chu, Mr. Daniel Fung, Dr. Frederick Hu, Mr. Laurence Li, Mr. Liu Mingkang, Mr. Peter Lo, Mr. W.H. Ng, Mr. Andrew Sheng, Mr. Lawrence Tan, Mr. Thomas Tang, Mr. Ben Wong, Mr. George Yuen and Mr. Alvin Lee.
In the U.S., the delegation met with members of Congress, influential think tanks such as the CATO Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, government officials in the Clinton administration, the Chairman and CEO of NASD, influential technology councils and business associations.
In Washington, D.C., the delegation held meetings with leading technology firms such as AOL, EDS, ManTech International Corp, Motley Fool and Network Solutions. The delegation also met with The Northern Virginia Technology Council, The Information Technology Industry Council, The Greater Washington Initiative and The Coalition of Employment through Exports; and venture capital firms such as Venturehouse and FBR Venture Capital Partners. High-tech and venture capitalist firms on the delegation’s Silicon Valley and San Francisco itinerary included Cisco Systems, Intel, Oracle, Solectron, Goldman Sachs, H & Q Asia Pacific, National Semiconductors and Materials Association, the National California Venture Capital Association and Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, Pentagon Inc, China Vest, W.I. Harper and the World Affairs Council.
The delegation attended dinners hosted by Ambassador Mickey Kantor, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and Ms. Jackie Willis, Hong Kong’s U.S. Commissioner in Washington, D.C. In San Francisco, a series of receptions and dinners for the delegation were hosted by Forbes, the Vice Mayor of San Jose, Stanford University, HongKong-SV.com and the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, creating even more opportunities for exchanging ideas and networking.
Earlier in Toronto, some members of the delegation held useful discussions with government leaders, Ontario Exports, Hong Kong Canada Business Association, Canadian Bankers Association and multinational corporations such as Nortel Networks, Descartes, Sybase Canada, HSBC Canada and Citibank. They also visited The University of Toronto, where they met with members from the software development company Neteka, and the Centre for International Studies. A meeting was also held with the Deans of Law from the University of Toronto and the Osgoode Law School of York University.
Meeting with Ambassador Mickey Kantor & AOL
2000.02.01