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| During their recent visit to Atlanta, Hong Kong Commissioner to the USA Donald Tong (second from right) and Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York Monica Chen (second from left) met with Commissioner Kenneth Stewart (far right) of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, and Gretchen Corbin, Director of International Operations at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. |
Hong Kong Commissioner for Economic and Trade Affairs, USA Donald Tong made his first official visits to the states of Massachusetts, Illinois and Georgia in February and met with government officials and business leaders in the three states. As part of his visits, he also attended the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office’s spring receptions in Boston (February 12), Chicago (February 18) and Atlanta (February 26).
While in Boston, Mr. Tong met with academic, business and government leaders, including Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver General Timothy Cahill, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki and Executive Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Jeffrey Fuhrer.
In his respective meetings, Mr. Tong gave an update on the latest economic and financial landscape in Hong Kong, including the measures introduced by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to stabilize the financial markets and to help small- and medium-sized enterprises.
In Chicago, Mr. Tong met local academic, business and community leaders, including Chairman of the World Trade Center Illinois Hon. Neil F. Hartigan, Vice Chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Charles P. Carey, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Community Development in Chicago Christine Raguso and Dean of the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago Professor Edward Snyder.
Mr. Tong also met with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and updated members of the chamber on the latest economic situation in Hong Kong. In his meeting, Mr. Tong emphasized that Hong Kong’s economy had been consistently ranked as the freest in the world, most recently by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, which ranked Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy for the 15th consecutive year.
He also said that Hong Kong is committed to the free market principles, free trade, a free flow of information, capital and people, as well as a low and simple tax system.
In Atlanta, Mr. Tong met the Director of the Emory Global Health Institute and Vice President for Global Health at Emory University Dr. Jeffrey Koplan. Mr. Tong also met with Commissioner Kenneth Stewart of the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Georgia Secretary of State Karen C. Handel.
Mr. Tong also gave a luncheon presentation at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, where he highlighted the successful implementation of the “One-Country, Two Systems” principle in Hong Kong, and the territory’s high-degree of autonomy.
In his presentation, Mr. Tong also elaborated on the measures introduced by the Hong Kong government to stabilize the financial market, create and preserve jobs and support enterprises.
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