Speech by FS at Centrestage Elites 2022 (English only) (with video/photos)

Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at Centrestage Elites 2022 today (September 9):

Peter (Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Dr Peter Lam), Margaret (Executive Director of the HKTDC, Ms Margaret Fong), Katherine (Chairman of the HKTDC Garment Advisory Committee, Ms Katherine Fang), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening. It gives me great pleasure to join you for the opening of the seventh Centrestage, a three-day fashion fiesta taking place right here - and indeed everywhere else, too, online.

My thanks to Katherine for hitting the show's highlights, especially those cheering exhibitor numbers - more than 240 from 15 countries and regions.

I welcome international exhibitors to Centrestage, and to the many other shows that have long made Hong Kong a global trade fair hub.

Your presence speaks, clearly and ever so smartly, of the resilience and return of our convention and exhibition industry. It is heartening to see you all, and we in the Government are determined to encourage and support business amid the challenges of the pandemic.

Back to Centrestage, I hope you caught this afternoon's FFF - Fashion Forward GBA. Sponsored by CCIDAHK, it was staged in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong SAR's establishment.

Fashion Forward GBA featured brands and design institutes from Macao and Shenzhen, of course along with a wide variety of the latest looks from Hong Kong. We are proud that from here, from Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area fashion design reaches an eager world. 

This evening's opening show, Centrestage Elites, spotlights Hong Kong's DEMO and Japan's Children of the discordance.

That's followed by the Fashion Hong Kong Runway Show. It showcases six local brands, each brimming with distinctive style, from vivid colours and sci-fi elements to art tech and sustainable materials - all of it created in the service of fashion that's fresh and inspiring.

So much "Inclusion and Diversity" - the central theme of this year's Centrestage - and that is Hong Kong. It's hardly surprising, given that Hong Kong is destined to rise as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges, thanks to the National 14th Five-Year Plan. Fashion and design are central to cultural exchange, and also to what makes Hong Kong unique.

Tomorrow at Centrestage, I'm thinking of visiting the Centreverse, perhaps even venturing into the Metaverse, though I'm not sure they'll let me in with my tie on.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm grateful to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for organising Centrestage again this year.

I wish exhibitors and buyers alike the best of business, and fashion, at the fair.

And taking this opportunity, I also wish you a very joyful and blessed Mid-Autumn Festival.

Thank you.

Friday, September 9, 2022

Video