Speech by Monica Chen
Director, Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, New York
at
“New York Celebrates Hong Kong” – “A Taste of Hong Kong” event
(22 October 2008)

Thank you, Linda.

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you tonight to this “A Taste of Hong Kong” event, which marks the grand finale of the “New York Celebrates Hong Kong” festival.

Over the last three weeks, under the auspices of the “New York Celebrates Hong Kong” 2008 festival, I hope you have joined us in experiencing an amazing journey of ecstatic celebrations of Hong Kong’s diverse culture.

“New York Celebrates Hong Kong” is an exemplar of our mission to promote Hong Kong, Asia’s world city. The various programs that we have presented aim to provide the New York audience with a panoramic view of Hong Kong’s economic vitality and cultural diversity.

The festival showcases the various facets of Hong Kong’s talents. Through art exhibits, opera and dance performances, and education symposiums. New Yorkers are offered an opportunity to learn more about the evolving “modern heritage” of our continuously vibrant and transformative city.

In case you have missed some of the events, let me take you through a quick flashback of the festival.

The Launch Event

On October 1, at this very same place and amid the presence of some 70 guests comprising mostly media personnel, “New York Celebrates Hong Kong” was announced. A 30-second short film encapsulating the vibrancy of the Hong Kong cosmopolitan was formally released. Thereafter, this short film was distributed on NBC’s Jumbo Tron at Time Square, 128,000 spots in all, and telecast on TV monitors aboard New York’s yellow taxicabs, with 250,000 spots broadcast throughout October.

We are particularly honored that Hong Kong Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing flew in to help us launch the media campaign. I am also grateful to NBC for their generous support in putting out this package for us. (HKTB)

The first performance event was:

Cantonese Opera and workshops
Hong Kong Panorama: A Rhapsody of Cantonese Opera

The performances by a top Hong Kong Cantonese opera troupe, Ming Chee Sing Chinese Opera Company, were staged by our partnering organization, Queens Theatre in the Park.

The two nights’ performances provided the full-house attendance with an impactful visual presentation of the traditional art form which is characterized by a combination of music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting.

To enable appreciation of this art form at a deeper level, we organized two workshops, one at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts and the other at Parsons, The New School for Design. Veteran performers from Hong Kong were invited to host these workshops. The participants were fully immersed in the art form as they were introduced to its symbolism, connotations, costumes, movements and sign languages. They were also able to feel the costumes, props and the various gears which were on display.

Meet the Designers – Lecture: “A New Vision: Chinese Spirit, Global Design”

In a workshop co-organized with the Hong Kong Design Centre, featuring internationally acclaimed designer Eric Chan and architect/designer Calvin Tsao who discussed the role of Asian arts and culture in contemporary society, their relationship between the individual and community, heritage and globalization, as well as the synergies between economic growth and cultural enterprises.

And, we have Hong Kong Secretary for Development Mrs. Carrie Lam flew all the way from Hong Kong to officiate at the lecture, which attracted more than 100 people from New York’s design industry and urban planning sector to exchange views and visions on global design.

Exhibition and symposium on “Vertical Density/Sustainable Solutions”

In conjunction with the exhibition named: Vertical Cities: Hong Kong/New York by the Skyscraper Museum, an international symposium was organized to exam the dramatic vertical urbanism of Hong Kong and explore comparisons with New York City.

Hong Kong Secretary for Development Mrs. Carrie Lam delivered a keynote speech at the symposium, where prominent personalities from Hong Kong’s and New York’s property and architecture sectors attended.

A Showcase of Hong Kong Contemporary Dance: Silver Rain:

The presentation by world famous City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) from Hong Kong, who is renowned for its distinctive and yet diverse style of its programs.

A critic once wrote: The performance “Silver Rain” rose much above the realm of professionally crafted theatrics. In an array of contrasting theatrical visions and through strong visual imageries, the audience was led to traverse the China of the past and the present.

Thanks to Pace University for staging the performance, the full-house attendance brought the entire theatre down.

Grand Finale Event – A Taste of Hong Kong

And, then we come to our dinner tonight.

A culinary capital of Asia, Hong Kong is famous for our exotic fusion of Eastern and Western cuisine and captures a wide variety of culinary delights to boot. Our unique historical background, proximity to Mainland China, and our ever-wanting desire for excellence, has made us known as the “Gourmet’s Paradise. Tonight, we will take you on another exquisite dining experience. Chef Tak-kong, a Hong Kong native, will show us how refine Hong Kong’s culinary art can be. We are also pleased to have Ed Schoenfeld, the famous Chinese food expert, to narrate the specialties of Chinese cuisine, alongside Chef Tak-kong demonstrations.

Before I close, I would like to thank all our partners in this festival. My particular thanks go to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Our fruitful collaboration in this festival is another testament of the strength and power of the Hong Kong family.

- Queens Theatre in the Park,
- Ming Chee Sing Chinese Opera Company,
- City Contemporary Dance Company,
- Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School,
- Parsons, The New School for Design,
- Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University,
- The Skyscraper Museum, and
- Asia Society.

My salute also to my friends from the media. They have demonstrated the highest level of professionalism, and it is their unfailing support to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York that have helped keep Hong Kong alive here and abroad

It is also an auspicious occasion tonight as we welcome the new Hong Kong Commissioner to the U.S., Mr. Donald Tong. Mr. Tong has just taken up this appointment as the most senior Hong Kong official in the U.S.

I would like to call upon Mr. Tong to say a few words to us. Mr. Tong, please.