HK celebrates 20th anniversary of SAR

Guests propose a toast at a gala in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Toronto on June 5. From left: Michael Lim, director of Canada, Central and South America of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB); Michael Chong, Canada Member of Parliament; He Wei, Chinese consul general in Toronto; Kathy Chan, director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto); Anthony Lau, executive director of HKTB; Jeff Nankivell, the consul general of Canada in Hong Kong and Macao; and Bonnie Crombie, mayor of Mississauga. [Photo by Na Li/chinadaily.com.cn]

Twenty years after its establishment as a special administrative region, Hong Kong has seen tremendous growth.

"Over the past 20 years, the real gross domestic product (GDP) of Hong Kong has achieved a cumulative growth of more than 80 percent," said Kathy Chan, director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto). "The number of regional headquarters and offices set up by overseas and mainland corporations in Hong Kong has increased by 50 percent. The amount of foreign direct investment stock has expanded by 6.5 times."

Chan spoke at an official celebratory gala themed Together, Progress & Opportunity on Monday in Toronto.

With much dedication to building a fair and just society, the HKSAR government had allocated substantial resources to care for the needy to ensure that they could also enjoy the fruits of economic advancement, Chan said.

At the same time, the government has also invested heavily in education to nurture talent to maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness, she said.

"The past 20 years have not always been a smooth sail for Hong Kong. We have faced many challenges, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and the global financial crisis in 2008. We could not have overcome the uphill battles without Hong Kong people staying together," Chan said. "More importantly, we would not have been able to prevail at difficult times without the staunch support of the central government."

She cited the measures rolled out at those crucial moments by the government in Beijing, including the signing of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement in 2003 and the use of Hong Kong as the launch pad for the mainland's financial market liberalisation measures in 2008, under the "one country, two systems" arrangement.

"The development of Hong Kong and the well-being of Hong Kong citizens have always been the common aspiration of all Chinese, no matter where they are," He Wei, Chinese consul general in Toronto, said at the gala. "I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks and respect to the local Chinese, especially to the Hong Kong community in Canada here."

"It's a special anniversary, the 20th anniversary of HKSAR and 150th anniversary of Canada," said Member of Parliament Michael Chong. "But it's not just that these two anniversaries tie together, because the Canadian confederation would not have happened without people from the south of China, from Hong Kong, who 150 years ago immigrated to Canada.

"Confederation happened because a promise was made to the people who lived on the west coast of this country, British Columbia, to build the Pacific railway," he said.

renali@chinadailyusa.com