International Hong Kong Celebrates A Charity Gala Dinner To Celebrate Set Up Of The HKSAR

In a unique collaboration between 22 chambers of commerce and business associations in Hong Kong and the Better Hong Kong Foundation, a gala event designed to demonstrate the international business community commitment to the territory will form part of the handover celebrations on July 2, 1997.

Entitled “International Hong Kong Celebrates”, the event will be the first dinner of such large scale to be held in the new extension to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre after the change in sovereignty. Some 4,000 of Hong Kong senior government officials and business leaders will attend the gala evening, including SAR Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee-hwa, together with senior officials from the new SAR government.

Mrs Nellie Fong, Chairman of the Organising Committee for “International Hong Kong Celebrates”, said the historic occasion of the handover is the ideal opportunity to declare the business community commitment to the city, while the world attention is focused on Hong Kong.

“The international business community has a long-standing relationship with Hong Kong, reflecting the territory historic status as a key trading centre in the region. This relationship has been considerably strengthened in the last four decades in parallel with Hong Kong emergence as a leading international manufacturing, financial, business services and communications hub,” Mrs Fong said.

The evening will consist of world-class entertainment provided by singing stars Lea Salonga, Sandy Lam and the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival among others. The performance by the Youth Arts Festival is called he Best of all Worlds?and is based on a text by Confucius, which begins “When the perfect order prevails, the world is like a home shared by all.”

To reflect the international nature of the evening, the menu consists of sumptuous delicacies from all the major continents, including a European starter, an Asian soup, Australian main course, North American dessert and South American coffee.

According to Mr Christopher Hammerbeck, Chairman of the Executive Committee for “International Hong Kong Celebrates”, one of the most significant aspects of the event is the continuing role of the business community in funding higher education in the territory.

“With the money raised from table sales on the evening, HK$1 million will be donated to the lntercham Scholarship and Educational Fund, which was established seven years ago as part of the long term commitment by international chamber members to promote the value of higher education amongst the less advantaged and to prepare promising young individuals to join as members of the future business leaders of Hong Kong,” Mr Hammerbeck said.