Press Release

Briefings on Hong Kong Ministerial Conference held for Wanchai District 

Friday, June 24, 2005

Briefings will be held for Wanchai organizations in July to provide them with details about the World Trade Organization (WTO) Sixth Ministerial Conference and measures that they may take to prepare for the occasion.

In October 2003, WTO which deals with the rules of trade between economies at a global level accepted Hong Kong's offer for hosting its Sixth Ministerial Conference, and to highlight our role as the host of the event, we have named it as the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. 

"It is expected that some 11,000 participants from all over the world will be attending the Conference held in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wanchai from December 13 to 18 this year," a spokesman for the Trade and Industry Department (TID) said.

To enable the local community to have a better understanding of this international event and have the public prepared, the Government will hold a series of briefing sessions in the coming months, the spokesman explained.

Letters have been sent out to organizations in Wanchai District to invite participation in the briefing sessions, held on July 13 and 20 in Leighton Hill Community Hall. The building management and security companies in the district were invited to join. Assistance was sought to help display the letter in the lobby of the buildings in Wanchai to draw the tenants'/residents' attention to the briefings.

Representatives from the World Trade Organization Sixth Ministerial Conference Co-ordination Office (MCO), Hong Kong Police Force, the Trade and Industry Department and the Transport Department will be present to brief participants on the Conference and answer questions, the spokesman said.

Given the scale of the Conference, special traffic, crowd control and security arrangements will be introduced prior and during the Conference period, in particular in the vicinity of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Education and Manpower Bureau has advised and encouraged schools, especially those on the Hong Kong Island to designate December 13, the Opening Day of the Conference, as a discretionary school holiday or staff development day.

"We hope the public can understand that these measures are needed to ensure smooth conduct of the meetings," the spokesman said.

"Our aim is to keep the disruption to the normal life of our community to the minimum while ensuring the secure and smooth conduct of the Conference," the spokesman added.

The spokesman said MCO would continue to keep the public informed of the preparation made for the Conference. Similar briefings will be conducted in the following months for other districts and sectors. Government officials will attend the Legislative Council panels and the District Councils meetings to report progress on the logistical arrangements for the Conference. Latest information on the Conference will be uploaded on the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference special website (www.wtomc6.gov.hk).

"The Hong Kong Ministerial Conference is a community-wide project. Public support is pivotal to the success of the Conference. Every effort is made to let the public know more about the Conference and be prepared for it," the spokesman said. 

Ends