HKETO Berlin's New Year's Greetings

Dear partners and friends of Hong Kong, thank you for being with us on this special occasion to welcome the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Tiger.

It has long been a tradition of our Office to meet you in person to exchange good wishes, enjoy some nice food and cultural performances from Hong Kong and to celebrate the beginning of the New Year together. I cannot believe that this would be the third consecutive year in which the pandemic prevents us from getting together as we used to do in the past. Having just recently joined the office as the new Director in November last year, I was especially looking forward to this New Year get-together tradition. Nevertheless, the challenging conditions would not prevent us from reaching out to you, and I would like to greet you all with this video message.

Looking back at the past 12 months, I am proud to say that this message is far from being the only occasion on which we updated you on the latest developments in Hong Kong, sharing insights about business opportunities for you in our city and in the Asia-Pacific markets, and providing you with updates on the work of our Office.

For instance, we organised online events for our top officials to exchange views with audiences from different countries. They include webinars with the Chief Executive herself, Mrs Carrie Lam, in February; the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in March; the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, in June; and last but not least, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, in October. Of course we also organised several more events on our own and with partners to reach out to our contacts in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland. In doing so, we addressed topics ranging from Hong Kong’s start-up ecosystem to green finance. Our Office also supported and particiapted at the Zurich Film Festival and the Five Flavours Asian Film Festival in Warsaw in autumn last year.

On this festive season, we are delighted to bring you a performance from the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra as well as some latest footage from the Hong Kong Tourism Board to welcome the Chinese New Year. Please enjoy!

This year is the Year of the Tiger. It is said to be a year made for bold action. The Tiger is known for its power, daring, and ability to do everything on a grand scale. They are also quick to take action. So who knows, the Year of Tiger could bring a lot of changes in a swift manner. This is particularly true against the backdrop of the still-ongoing pandemic. Let’s all be prepared for an exciting time with many opportunities and challenges to face.

Speaking from the perspective of Hong Kong, we have all along been working to unlock our potential, seize new opportunities and prepare for the future.

In her 2021 Policy Address entitled “Building a Bright Future Together”, the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, set Hong Kong on course for a new era of development driven by closer integration with the Mainland China economy and opportunities under the effective implementation of “One Country, Two Systems”, whereby Hong Kong exercises a high degree of autonomy while preserving its own economic and social systems as well as common law system.

At the same time, there is strong national support for Hong Kong’s economic development. The National 14th Five-Year Plan endeavours to promote higher-level reform and opening-up of the country, and it sets out the role and positioning of Hong Kong in the country’s overall development, which presents room for development and opportunities in various areas of particular importance. With the support from the Central Government, the Hong Kong SAR Government will focus on consolidating and enhancing our status in four traditional sectors, namely international financial, transportation and trade centre, as well as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. On top of that, the Government will also work on establishing and developing Hong Kong’s status in four emerging sectors, namely as an international aviation and I&T hub, an “East meets West” centre for international cultural exchange, as well as a regional international property trading centre.

At the regional level, I am sure most of you are familiar with the term Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area – a vibrant city cluster that comprises the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, as well as nine municipalities in Guangdong. This area is one of the most vibrant and economically strongest areas in the world with a population of 86 million people. The Mainland’s commitment to develop a high-quality Greater Bay Area will call for more openness and innovation, more international cooperation and more synergy between Hong Kong and the Mainland cities. The Greater Bay Area is therefore the best entry point through which Hong Kong integrates into the overall development of our country, and businesses based in Hong Kong will undoubtedly enjoy the first-mover advantage.

The Government has also been making significant investments in the city’s arts infrastructure. The most notably one being the West Kowloon Cultural District, one of the world’s largest cultural initiatives. The centrepiece of this project is the M+, Hong Kong’s new visual cultural museum that has changed the Asian art landscape when it opened its gates last November. With most Asian museums operating as silos, telling the story of art in their own countries but seldom how artists influenced one another across borders, M+ being a multi-disciplinary museum with an international collection, is set to become one-of-a-kind in Asia.

Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to give you a preview of the major highlight in 2022 – we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We will soon invite you to various activities and events in both physical and virtual formats to take part in our celebrations. I looking forward to meeting you all there!

Meanwhile, with connections shifting online these days, we have grown our social media community to thousands of followers by now. Many thanks to all of you for staying in touch with us through all these channels! We will surely keep that momentum in the coming year to support you with the latest buzz from Hong Kong.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed our greetings together with the festive music and performances from Hong Kong. I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Tiger. Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Chinese New Year!

Contact:

Stephanie Pall
Head, Public Relations
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin
Tel: +49 (0) 30 22 66 77 24 2
Fax: +49 (0)30 22 66 77 28 8
E-mail: stephanie_pall@hketoberlin.gov.hk

HKETO Berlin
01 February 2022

Ends