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Speech for Postmaster General, Mr. P. C.LUK

Mr. BROUWER, Ms. TAN, members of the Stamp Advisory Committee, distinguished guests and friends from the media,

Thank you for attending the 2002 Hong Kong Definitive Stamps Issuing Ceremony.

As we all know, definitive stamps are commonly used and seen by the general public because they are widely available in the various denominations needed for the different categories and rates of postage. So, when we designed this new set of stamps, we focussed on the diverse, pluralistic culture of our society with a view to optimize the add-on value of stamps as publicity ambassadors.

Since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997, Hongkong Post has issued two sets of definitive stamps. As compared with its predecessor, this second set is different in many ways, such as design, subject matter, etc. The stamps, in plain sight, are just larger in size and richer in colour. To highlight the co-existence and harmony of our cultural pluralism, the technique of comparing and contrasting is adopted, i.e., each stamp contains two images of the same nature but different origins, one from the East and the other from the West. For example, the 'dim sum' and the bakery on $1.4 definitive stamp; the sailing boat and the dragon boat on the $3 definitive stamp; pieces of chess and xiangqi on the $13 definitive stamp, so on and so forth.

Last but not the least, I would like to express my gratitude to Jon. Enschede Stamps on this particular occasion. The end products of the work are really exquisite and wonderful. This set of stamps shows not only the advanced printing technology in the Netherlands, but also the close economic tie between Hong Kong and the Netherlands.

This new set of definitive stamps is a true reflection of our dynamic City of Life and I hope that it would be welcome by both the philatelists and the general public.

Thank you.