The Better Hong Kong Foundation has organized a high-level delegation which begins a visit today in North America to update business leaders, government officials, policy advisors and media on Hong Kong issues. The topics discussed will focus on technology, financial trends and the economic outlook of Hong Kong in the face of China’s imminent accession to the WTO. 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 center.
This visit comes at the heels of Hong Kong’s selection once again as the world’s freest economy by the Heritage Foundation’s 2000 Index of Economic Freedom and by a joint study conducted by the Cato Institute and Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World: 2000 Annual Report. The delegation will travel to Toronto, Canada from January 27-30, and later to the Washington, D.C. area, including Northern Virginia, and the San Francisco Bay Area, including Silicon Valley, from January 27 to February 5.
In the United States, the delegation is scheduled to meet with leaders in business, politics, academia and research, and high technology. In Washington, the delegation will meet with members of Congress, leading think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, government officials in the Clinton administration, the Chairman and CEO of NASD and numerous others. The delegation will also travel to the Dulles Corridor, Northern Virginia’s vibrant high technology center, to attend meetings with high technology firms such as Motley Fool and a dinner hosted by America Online with former Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor. High tech companies and venture capitalists on the delegation’s itinerary in Silicon Valley include Oracle, InfoGear Corporation, TechNet, Solectron Corporation, Hambrecht & Quist Asia Pacific, National Association of Venture Capitalists, and International Business Forum.
In Canada, the delegation is scheduled to meet with government leaders, academic scholars at the University of Toronto, leading technology companies such as Nortel Networks, representatives from the banking sector such as HSBC Bank Canada, other business representatives and the local Chinese community.
Led by the Honorable Nellie Fong, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Better Hong Kong Foundation and Executive Councillor of the HKSAR, the delegation includes representatives from Hong Kong’s legal, political and business communities. Commenting on the visit, Mrs. Fong said, “In the past year, Hong Kong has been instrumental in furthering the Internet revolution in Asia, as well as contributing to the tremendous growth in China’s markets. This trip is in line with the vision laid out by Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa in his 1998 Policy Address, that is, to promote Hong Kong as a center of high technology and to capitalize on our strategic proximity to what is perhaps the biggest economy in the 21st century. The visit to the United States and Canada is an excellent opportunity to bring the excitement of Hong Kong to our friends on the other side of the globe and to further update them on other key developments taking place in Hong Kong.”
“The Better Hong Kong Foundation is delighted to be once again promoting exchanges between business and political leaders from Hong Kong and North America,” said Mr. George Yuen, Chief Executive of the Better Hong Kong Foundation. “We believe that these regular exchanges will be crucial for maintaining Hong Kong’s position as the financial center of Asia.”
Others traveling with Mrs. Fong and Mr. Yuen to North America are: Mr. Anthony Au, Dr. Cheng Cheng Wen, Mr. Raymond Chu, Mr. Daniel Fung, Dr. Frederick Zuliu Hu, Mr. Laurence Li, Mr. Peter Lo, Mr. W.H. Ng, Mr. Andy Pao, Mr. Andrew Sheng, Mr. Lawrence Tan, Mr. Thomas Tang, Mr. Ben Wong, and Mr. Alvin Lee.
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 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.