CE begins visit to Shanghai (with photos/videos)

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (November 1) started her visit to Shanghai, where she attended a Hong Kong and Shanghai cultural and creative co-operation conference and the opening ceremony of Festival Hong Kong 2019 – A Cultural Extravaganza@Shanghai, and met with the Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee.

     Accompanied by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, Mrs Lam visited the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) in the morning. After a brief meeting with the President of the SASS, Mr Zhang Daogen, Mrs Lam together with Mr Zhang attended the Hong Kong and Shanghai cultural and creative co-operation conference. At the conference, they witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Shanghai Culture Research Center and Zuni Icosahedron from Hong Kong which covers the setting up of a joint cultural talents exchange and training centre for the Belt and Road Initiative and other matters. Mrs Lam then delivered a keynote speech to about 100 scholars of the SASS on Hong Kong’s role in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area including the ways that Hong Kong can promote exchanges in culture and arts among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao as well as how Hong Kong could take the culture of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to the international arena.

    At noon, Mrs Lam and Mr Nip met with the Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mr Li Qiang, and the Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Ying Yong, and attended a lunch hosted by them. Mrs Lam said that she was pleased to be visiting Shanghai for the third time during her tenure as Chief Executive and she thanked the Shanghai Municipal Government for attaching importance to co-operation between Shanghai and Hong Kong over the years. She also expressed gratitude for the Shanghai Municipal Government’s staunch support for the work of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in Shanghai, in particular the assistance and support given to Festival Hong Kong 2019 – A Cultural Extravaganza@Shanghai and the participation by the HKSAR Government in the China International Import Expo. She said she looks forward to the Shanghai Week to be organised by Shanghai in Hong Kong next year which will further strengthen cultural co-operation between Shanghai and Hong Kong and will continue to promote co-operation in various areas between the two places.

     Accompanied by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, and Mr Nip, Mrs Lam attended the opening ceremony for Festival Hong Kong 2019 – A Cultural Extravaganza@Shanghai in the evening. Addressing the ceremony, Mrs Lam said that the Festival is the first major cultural activity organised in the Mainland by Hong Kong since the 2010 Shanghai Expo and the event covers stage performances, film screenings, exhibitions and an outdoor carnival with the aim of demonstrating the vitality and creativity of Hong Kong’s arts and culture to people in the Mainland and abroad. Mrs Lam and the other officials then watched the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s performance of the concert “A Cosmopolitan Symphony”, which marked the opening of the Festival.

     In the afternoon, Mrs Lam visited the China Welfare Institute (CWI) with Mr Nip and toured the Children's Palace of the CWI to learn about the welfare services provided by the CWI for women and children in the Mainland. Mrs Lam had been invited by the Chairman of the CWI, Mr Wang Jiarui, during his visit to Hong Kong at the end of last year.

     Mrs Lam will travel to Nanjing tomorrow (November 2) to continue her visit programme.