Better Hong Kong Foundation – A Joint Effort to Promote Hong Kong Overseas

During the Chinese New Year, the Better Hong Kong Foundation has spearheaded a concerted effort with Hong Kong’s government and public statutory bodies to promote Hong Kong to the international community.

A delegation, led by Mr. George Yuen, Chief Executive of the Better Hong Kong Foundation, was composed of leading members from Hong Kong’s governmental and public bodies, namely Mr. Thomas Woo, Council Member of the Better Hong Kong Foundation; Mr. Daniel R. Fung, Chairman of East-West Strategic Development Commission; Ms Sarah Monks, Director of Communication, Hong Kong Trade Development Council; Ms Pricilla Law from Invest Hong Kong, as well as representatives from Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office New York and Pacific Basic Economic Council (PBEC), an international organisation whose headquarters is based in Hong Kong.

The visit, which commenced on February 14 and ended on February 18, included more 25 high-level meetings in New York City and Washington, D.C., with influential American audiences, including senior representatives from both the Administration and the Congress, leading financial institutions, such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Standard & Poor’s, HSBC USA, Citigroup Inc., and New York Stock Exchange; prominent think-tanks including Asia Society, Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, National Committee on U.S. – China Relations and mainstream media, like Forbes and Fortune Magazines and Washington Post. The delegation had in-depth dialogues with Asia Society and Guggenheim Museum that have shown great interests in Hong Kong’s cultural development project. The delegation also met with the Chinese Ambassador to the Unites States, Mr. Yang Jiechi, who especially conveyed his best regards to people in Hong Kong.

The main purpose of the visit was to provide an annual update to the American opinion leaders and interlocutors about Hong Kong’s latest socio-political situation, economic outlook as well as other issues of mutual interests. The delegation, in particular, highlighted two upcoming events, the Grand Opening of Disneyland and the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Meeting, which are believed to put Hong Kong under the international spotlight.

The delegation also briefed the American interlocutors various aspects of developments, like the constitutional development, educational reform, cultural development project and environmental protection. Mr. Daniel R. Fung, being the Chairman of the Broadcasting Authority, highlighted Hong Kong’s well-positioned role as the regional broadcasting hub.

Mr. George Yuen saw the delegation as a united front in putting different bodies together to showcase Hong Kong in the international community and to highlight her importance as Asia’s World City, “We deliver one strong message: trying to promote Hong Kong from different perspectives – as a platform of international trade and investment, a pivotal role in Pan Pearl River Delta economic integration, a role-model for other economies in the area of intellectual property protection, a regional hub of broadcasting and telecommunication, as well as tertiary education.”

Mr. Daniel R. Fung added that the visit has reaffirmed Hong Kong remains a premier centre of business and financial activities on the world map, as reflected by the immerse interest of the U.S. thought leaders. Mr. Fung reasserted, “There is no room for complacency as Hong Kong needs to continue to sharpen its competitive edge in creating favourable business environment for investments in the face of competitions from neighbouring economies.”

Ms Sarah Monks highly regarded such an opportunity of collaboration: “We were able to highlight to the US decision-makers and media, the enduring institutional strengths of Hong Kong, in particular, our separate legal system and Hong Kong’s protection of intellectual property. The mission yielded valuable insights that will help to inform TDC’s upcoming outreach activities in key US cities.”

The delegation noted that the American opinion leaders and interlocutors were deeply impressed by Hong Kong’s economic rebound after the devastating SARS outbreak in 2003, and looked forward to a steady growth in the year ahead. The delegation indeed capitalized the opportunity to relate a positive aspect of the SARS outbreak: “the SARS helps Hong Kong to crystallize, after several years of soul-searching, that our future ties closely with the neighbouring Pearl River Delta region. The resultant closer economic integration with the Greater and even Pan Pearl River Delta region is our way out of future development,” as told by Mr. Al Reyes, a policy analyst of PBEC to the American audiences. Also noteworthy was the affirmation made by both the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute in recognizing Hong Kong’s continuous efforts in keeping herself as the freest economy in the world.

Mr. George Yuen summed up the results by saying that “the visit was such a success in providing a platform for different bodies to convey a positive message to the international community that Hong Kong remains as a vibrant and free economy, a centre of international trade and investment, a pivot of neighbouring PRD and regional integration, as well as a regional hub of broadcasting and telecommunication.”

For enquires, please contact Ms. Elsie Leung of the Better Hong Kong Foundation at 2865-3529.

 

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The Better Hong Kong Foundation is a privately funded, non-profit, non-political organization, formed by leading Hong Kong business people to reinforce Hong Kong’s role as the leading regional financial, shipping, trading, communications and technology center.  The Foundation also serves to enhance greater international understanding between East and West by facilitating communications between Hong Kong, China and the international community.