Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Hong Kong Customs reached a climax today (September 17) with the Customs Centennial Reception at the Exhibition Hall, Hong Kong City Hall.
The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, officiated at the centennial reception and offered his congratulations to the Customs and Excise Department in reaching this historic milestone.
Joining the Chief Executive to officiate at the reception were the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang; Vice-Minister of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China, Mr Wang Songhe; Director-General of the Macao Customs, Mr Choi Lai Hang, and former commissioners of the department.
Speaking at the reception ceremony, the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Richard Yuen, said that Customs was often said to be as old as commerce itself and, similar to other customs services, the Hong Kong Customs was one of the earliest agencies established in the Hong Kong Government.
Mr Yuen said the many achievements and accomplishments that the Hong Kong Customs had made over the last 100 years would not have been possible without the dedicated service of the thousands of men and women who had served or were serving the department today.
He also said the Hong Kong Customs was one of the first Customs to take the initiative to work with the industry to promote and facilitate trade.
"That so many international businesses and shipping companies continue to prefer to ship their goods through our Kwai Chung Container Port, our airport and our land control points is a testimony to the efficiency and reliability of our service," he said.
Guests taking part in the celebration included government officials, consuls-general and officials of other Customs authorities.
The history of the Customs and Excise Department dated back exactly 100 years to the day, September 17, 1909, when its forerunner, the Preventive Service, was established. An exhibition, with a "time tunnel" and booths featuring the significant developments and historic moments of the department over the past 100 years, was set up at the reception for the guests to review the transformation of the Preventive Service into the present Customs and Excise Department.
Ends/Thursday, September 17, 2009
