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For issue on Thursday, March 14, 2002
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| About 500 prominent guests from
the Japanese political, business, cultural, academic and media circles gathered
in Tokyo this (March 14) evening to bid farewell to Principal Hong Kong Economic
and Trade Representative (Tokyo), Miss Cheung Man-yee. Miss Cheung will go on pre-retirement leave on March 25, 2002. The guests included Chairman of the Japan-Hong Kong Parliamentarian League and former Japanese Prime Minister, the Hon. Tsutomu Hata; former Japanese Prime Minister, the Hon. Yoshiro Mori; Minister of Justice, the Hon. Mayumi Moriyama; Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Wu Dawei; Chairman of the Japan-Hong Kong Business Cooperation Committee, Mr Sadao Umeda, and President of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), Mr Katsuji Ebisawa. In her farewell speech, Miss Cheung said she was delighted to note that in the past two years the economic cooperation between Japan and Hong Kong had continued to strengthen in spite of the global downturn. “We greatly value the good bilateral trade and economic relations which is so important to both Hong Kong and Japan,” she said. Looking ahead, Miss Cheung added, the trade and economic ties between Hong Kong and Japan would be strengthened further with China’s entry to the World Trade Organisation, as Hong Kong played an even more significant role as gateway to China. “We look forward to seeing more Japanese companies, in particular small and medium enterprises, come to Hong Kong or use Hong Kong as a springboard into the Mainland of China,” she said. To all the acquaintances she made during her tenure in Japan, Miss Cheung said: “It warms my heart today that the strange faces that I saw two years ago have now turned into familiar and supportive faces, now that you have become my friends. I treasure your friendship and support.” She said she would continue to watch Japan with interest and would continue to do her very best to contribute to the furtherance of Japan-Hong Kong relations. Miss Cheung also introduced to the guests her successor, Mr Fong Chi-wai, Alex, who flew from Hong Kong to attend the handover reception. Mr Fong, currently Deputy Secretary for Economic Services, said he and his family looked forward to their experience in Japan. Noting that Hong Kong and Japan shared very strong ties, he said: “With your help, I do hope to build on the foundations my predecessors have build up over the years and bring them to a new level by the time I leave this post.” |
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