1996 - 2000

In August 1998, members of the Better Hong Kong Foundation started to think about what we could do to reinforce public confidence during the economic downturn. After consulting a number of business sectors, we felt it was possible to organise a campaign that would boost the confidence of the people of Hong Kong, unite them, and also show the world that Hong Kong people would overcome whatever difficulties lay ahead of us. The Foundation was able to organise this Campaign within such a short period of time thanks to the enthusiastic participation and support of the many sectors who vividly demonstrated a sense of solidarity among the community. Participating sectors included business, education, hotel, labour, media, movie and entertainment, retail, restaurant, sports, tourism and the eighteen districts throughout the territory. On December 6, 1998, the Campaign was inaugurated with a ceremony featuring an audience of about 5,000 and a live broadcast by the local media. The Campaign’s Patron, the Chief Executive Mr. Tung Chee-Hwa, the Chief Secretary for Administration Mrs. Anson Chan and other community leaders officiated at the ceremony. The launch also marked the beginning of a series of Campaign activities. The education sector organised an essay competition for secondary school students and a painting competition for primary school students to enhance their civic spirit and awareness. Some twenty secondary school student winners were awarded scholarships for a four-week course at Qinghua University in Beijing in August 1999. Thirty winners from the drawing competition were selected for a one-day tour of major Hong Kong landmarks. Several hundred restaurants pledged their support to the Campaign by organising lucky draws and a series of themed promotions, such as “The Appreciation of Delicious Dishes” and “The Best Chinese Cuisine in Hong Kong”. Customers dining at participating restaurants who presented Campaign coupons were given free dishes. The labour sector organised job fairs featuring employment opportunities at various large corporations in early 1999, followed by a seminar on “The Importance of Good Relations between Employers and Employees.” Also, a series of retraining programmes were organised to help job-seekers. The business sector held the “33rd Hong Kong Products Expo” from December 18, 1998, to January 11, 1999, at the Tamar Site in Central. An “SMEs Week” was held by the Industry Department in early February 1999. In the retail sector, some 5,000 retail outlets including chain supermarkets, boutiques, department stores and cafes participated in a joint promotion entitled “Hong Kong Shopping Spree”, organised by the Hong Kong Retail Management Association together with the then Hong Kong Tourist Association (now the Hong Kong Tourism Board) to boost shopper confidence and to stimulate consumption. Additionally, all major shopping malls supported the Campaign by coordinating their respective mall activities to help promote the Campaign message. The Hong Kong Jockey Club also pledged support for the Campaign by organising the “Hong Kong Together” Cup in January 17, 1999. The Homes Affairs Department, together with the eighteen districts, organised more than ninety programmes for the community to show their solidarity with the Campaign. In the sports sector, a wall-painting event held on 26th November, 1998 at the Hong Kong Sports Institute saw thousands of high-spirited students standing in support of Hong Kong’s athletes as they set off for the Asian Games in Bangkok. Sector representatives and the “Hong Kong Together” Campaign Joint Working Committee were there to cheer on the athletes. The Campaign gained momentum and grew, with activities and events taking place right through to the end of 1999. Our aim was to keep this dynamic community spirit going, and to prove to both ourselves and the world that as long as we had confidence in ourselves, our community would come back better and stronger than ever. The Campaign brought together employees and employers, students and teachers, the young and the old – essentially every member of the community – in a show of support for Hong Kong and a demonstration of their faith in Hong Kong. Drawing Competition Essay Competition Student Program The “Hong Kong Together” Campaign Logo The heart-shaped element is a key component of the “Hong Kong Together” Campaign logo, and establishes our basic premise: every aspect of this Campaign comes from the bottom of our hearts. Inside the heart design, the three circles represent Hong Kong people from all walks of life uniting together and standing firm to meet the challenges they face. Next to the heart is the Tsing Ma Bridge and the Hong Kong International Airport, landmarks symbolising Hong Kong as an international city. The logo illustrates the vigour, dynamism and resilience of the Hong Kong people in overcoming difficulties, while also showing our solidarity in building a better Hong Kong together.

The Better Hong Kong Foundation organized the Hong Kong 97 Spectacular – a light and sound show which included an illuminated flotilla, music, water fountains, special effects, lights, lasers and a fireworks display on Victoria Harbour to mark Hong Kong’s first day of Chinese sovereignty and to celebrate a new era on the evening of July 1, 1997. The Foundation believed that July 1 was the perfect time for the Hong Kong community to make a bold statement to the world that captured the confidence in the future of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of China. The event would also build a spirit of togetherness and enable Hong Kong to forge ahead in its new role. The Spectacular brought together the best of Hong Kong, Chinese and overseas talent and reflected the true face of Hong Kong as an international, cosmopolitan city, while offering the community an unforgettable spectacle in which the people of Hong Kong could take part to celebrate the present and their sense of optimism for the future. The US$12 million event was paid for by the Hong Kong commercial sector. The concept of the Spectacular was initiated and developed by Hong Kong people. Thirty-four corporate patrons sponsored the event, and CSS International was chosen as project manager for the event. Don Mischer Productions, who mounted the opening and closing ceremonies at last year’s Olympics Games, produced and mounted the Show. Shipyards in Mainland China were responsible for manufacturing the flotilla barges. Co-organizers of the event were the Association for the Celebration of Reunification of Hong Kong with China and the Association of Hong Kong Guangdong Society Organizations for the Celebration of the Return of Hong Kong to China. Vice-Premier of the State Council, Mr. Qian Qichen with Patrons of Honour 31 illuminated floats sailed around the “pearl”

Two-thirds of Hong Kong business leaders in six specific sectors surveyed expect the territory’s economic growth to continue at current levels or increase following the change of sovereignty next year, according to an independent opinion poll carried out for The Better Hong Kong Foundation. In all, an average of 70.8 per cent of the respondents remained confident in Hong Kong’s business environment when it becomes the Special Administrative Region in 1997. This is one of the key findings of surveys undertaken by The Foundation since December last year with various specific business sectors ranging from Chambers of Commerce, Trade Commissions/Consulates, Banking, Manufacturing/Industry, Tourism & Retail and Accounting. In line with this underlying confidence in Hong Kong and its economic prospects, 74 per cent of the representative sample said they would continue with business as usual, while 19 per cent thought they would increase activity or plan to reassess the situation in 1997, and only 7 per cent of respondents expected to diminish their business presence in the territory or to relocate in light of the change of sovereignty. Two-thirds of the business leaders surveyed felt that the change of sovereignty in Hong Kong would not affect profitability, with the remaining 34 per cent equally split between improving and deteriorating profitability. With respect to the 10 most critical factors for maintaining business confidence, the free flow of capital and an independent legal system topped the list with 80 per cent and 79 per cent respectively, followed by local and international business confidence (both 64 per cent), free trade status (62 per cent), an independent Hong Kong dollar (60 per cent), eradication of corruption (58 per cent), reputation as financial centre of Asia (57 per cent), laissez-faire government policy towards business (56 per cent) and SAR autonomy in government (54 per cent). The survey revealed that one-third of the respondents expect access to China’s mainland market and the availability of cheap imported labour to be the areas where they anticipate improvements to occur as a result of the change in sovereignty. The opinion poll, conducted by Asia Studies – Wirthlin, also showed taxation, the economy, government policy towards business, the police force and legal system as the areas most expected to retain high autonomy beyond 1997, while respondents were less optimistic on the issues relating to the political system, media/broadcasting, human rights, the government of Hong Kong, immigration and Hong Kong’s standing in the international community.   Press Conference Trustee Dr. Henry Cheng (the middle) shared his views with professionals in architectural sector