Media Advisory: The Vancouver Board of Trade
Chairman Henry Lee and Mayor Sam Sullivan meet Chief Executive of Hong Kong
May 19, 2008   

(L-R) Chairman Henry Lee; Canadian Consul General in Hong Kong Gerry Campbell and Mayor Sam Sullivan meet the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang.

Vancouver Board of Trade chairman Henry Lee and Mayor Sam Sullivan met Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China yesterday, Monday, May 19.

Lee is heading a 40-strong delegation of business and community leaders visiting Hong Kong from Canada’s west coast trading gateway of Vancouver. The Vancouver Board of Trade is Western Canada’s most active business association with 5,800 members. The Board selected Hong Kong as the destination for its annual Urban Study Field Trip May 18 to 21 because of its similarity to Vancouver with its hybrid East/West culture and because it is also a regional hub for air travel and transport as well as an important port.

Ties between Hong Kong and Vancouver are strong as Vancouver is home to the largest Chinese population in Canada.

Board chairman Henry Lee; Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, Timothy Fok, president, Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong; Benjamin Fok, director and Eric Fok, vice-president, Henry Fok Ying Tung Group with the Olympic torch carried in the recent 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Torch Relay through Hong Kong.

The delegates’ agenda May 18-21 includes meeting with top officials to discuss and learn about topics including Hong Kong’s health care system, urban renewal, security, crime prevention, rehabilitation of offenders and drug abusers, tourism development and international marketing, transportation, public housing and emergency services. The delegation will visit projects from affordable housing to airport and port facilities and visit the Trade and Development Council, which actively promotes Hong Kong business opportunities. Another stop will be with Tourism Hong Kong to discuss its approach to attracting important tourist traffic.

 “The opportunity to learn from other cities and their governments and to study how they have tackled challenges that are similar to those we face is invaluable. Our purpose is to share what we learn with our own government to generate workable solutions for Vancouver,” said Lee.

The Board of Trade recognizes Hong Kong’s public transportation in the city is well developed with innovations such as using biometric identity cards. The enforcement of law and order is also highly effective and Hong Kong has become renowned for finding innovative solutions and implementing them in a timely and effective manner.

After the Hong Kong visit, some members of the delegation will proceed to Beijing to participate in the official opening of the British Columbia-Canada Pavilion. The Board of Trade will also sign a Memorandum of Co-operation with Invest Beijing to promote investment between the two jurisdictions.

HSBC Bank Canada is the main sponsor of the trip, with Cathay Pacific Airlines as the official airline and the Harbour Plaza Hong Kong, Hutchison Group as the hotel.

Delegates include: Mayor of Vancouver, Sam Sullivan; City of Vancouver; Coun. George Chow; Tony Gugliotta, SVP, Vancouver Airport Authority; Bob Laurie, VP, Cushman and Wakefield Lepage; Jack McGee, President, Justice Institute of British Columbia; Derral Moriyama, SVP, BMO Bank of Montreal; Daniel F. Muzyka, Dean, Sauder School of Business, UBC; John Nightingale, President, Vancouver Aquarium; Susan Paish, CEO, Pharmasave Drugs National Ltd; Jane Greene, CEO, Aeroguard; Andrew Scott, CEO, Digital Payment Technologies; Rita Fung, President, Shekinah Holdings; Anibal Valente, VP, PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc.; Darcy Rezac, Manager Director, The Vancouver Board of Trade.

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