Piet Steel, Chairman of Belgium-Hong Kong Society, FM Didier Reynders, and Shirley Lam, Special Representative of Hong Kong.
7 February 2017, Albert Hall, Brussels: Ms Shirley Lam, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, hosted 450 high level guests to the traditional, annual reception fêting the Chinese New Year, this year being the year of the Roaster.
Guest of Honour at the function was Belgium’s Vice-Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders. The PRC ambassadors to Belgium, Dr Qu Xing and to the EU, Yang Yanyi as well as Regional Director (Europe) of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, William Chui and the Chairman of Belgium-Hong Kong Society, Piet Steel, were likewise in attendance.
For Hong Kong, is it a milestone year as it commemorates the XXV anniversary of the “Establishment of the Special Administrative Region on 1 July 1997”. On that date, the PRC resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, which had been under British rule since 26 January 1841. Hong Kong thus became a “Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China”, with a high degree of autonomy guaranteed by our constitutional document, the Basic Law, and in accordance with the principles of “one country, two systems” and “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong”.
“One country, two systems” is an innovative constitutional arrangement. Back in the 1980s, when Hong Kong prepared for its return to China, many people had doubts on whether “two systems” in “one country” would work. In other words, whether the Hong Kong system would survive the change in 1997, as our legal system, our passport, and our currency for example, are all different from the mainland of China’s. Today the system has become Hong Kong’s strength, its niche. It enables the city to enjoy the best of both worlds; they are part of China and enjoy the “China advantage”, benefiting from all the opportunities that come with the Mainland’s economic development. At the same time, Hong Kong practices a different system from the mainland cities. They enjoy the free movement of trade, capital and information, the rule of law, a simple and low tax regime, and English as an official language alongside with Mandarin.
Hong Kong’s office also deals with bilateral and trade relations to Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Turkey.
For more information:
http://www.hongkong-eu.org/index_ok.php
https://diplomatmagazine.eu/2015/12/09/new-representative-from-hong-kong-to-the-eu/
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Photography by Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs Office.
