創刊賀辭-意大利駐香港總領事

意大利駐香港總領事
戴培思　賀辭

It is with warm pleasure that I am writing this message for the new magazine ‘International Link’. This new initiative is the fruit of the commitment of some valid journalists from Hong Kong who have demonstrated in past years a strong sensibility towards what happens outside the borders of their hometown. Indeed, openness is a quality that they have in common with most of the people who live here in Hong Kong. This surely is an international metropolis, whose fortune and prosperity has been determined by its capacity to deal with the stimulus and challenges coming from outside and its readiness to create its own original answers and find a way to jump over any obstacle.

Being open to the outside world is a feature that Hong Kong shares with Italy. Like Hong Kong has done in recent past, my Country has always chosen to embrace what lied beyond its borders and Italians had exchanges with foreign counterparts centuries ago. Here I can only mention a few: Marco Polo, the merchant who served under the Khan in Beijing, Cristoforo Colombo, explorer who sailed dangerous seas to be the first European in the New World, Guglielmo Marconi, the genius who invented the first technology to connect faraway people, the radio.

The result of this attitude is in front of our eyes. Hong Kong and Italy walk along a path of mutual exchanges, which has brought prosperity to both sides. In the last years, our bilateral trade has been growing at a pace unexperienced before and the benefits of this trend are spread among our people. Only in 2007, Italian exports to Hong Kong grew by 14.5% and exports from Hong Kong to Italy at 8.6%. The export of Italian leather products, Italian clothes and Italian jewels grew at extremely remarkable rates: respectively, 46.5%, 24.1% and 33.9%. This means that it is quite likely that the persons you meet everyday are wearing something made by my fellow nationals.

Moreover, the number of Italian people who choose Hong Kong as their home is increasing as well. In a few years, our community welcomed hundreds of new members, who move here to do business, to study or simply to take advantage of the assets of this international city.

On the opposite side, Hongkongers who have a link with Italy are more and more everyday. I arrived here only one year ago and I am astonished by the number of people that I meet who are interested in our culture. They literally line up to sign for Italian language classes and the tickets to attend our music and theatrical shows are always sold out, specially after the showcase of Italian culture offered in 2006 with the Year of Italy in China programs. An example is the incredible participation in the opera Rigoletto, staged a few days before this magazine was printed. Almost two hundred Italian artists flew to Hong Kong to perform one of the most classical and famous pieces of our tradition, and the public was enthusiastic: around ten thousand music lovers were there to listen to such a fine example of Italian music.

We are confident that our next projects will have the same impact and that Hong Kong people will enjoy our Film Festival in June or the big exhibition of ancient Roman relics at the Museum of Arts in Tsim Sha Tsui, which will open its doors on July 17th. Let me spend a few words on this forthcoming event, as it is likely to be the most important and beautiful exhibition ever organized by the Consulate General of Italy. Artifacts from the luxury villas which Romans used for their holydays and which were almost destroyed by a volcano eruption some 2000 years ago will be shown here for the first time, and I hope that the readers of ‘International link’ will be able to come and visit the Museum.

This love for Italy is not widespread only in Hong Kong, but in the whole of China, specially in an historic phase when the country that is experiencing a unprecedented economic boom. The relations between China and Italy date back thousands of years and after centuries of exchanges we are now moving into a more mature relationship, when the infatuation is gone and the time comes to address the real problems. Young lovers only see the good sides of each other and choose to ignore the shortcomings. After some time, however, mutual understanding, trust and confidence become more important than before. We see more of each other, we interact much more than before.

On of the results of this mature relationship is the exceptional momentum of trade. Last year, bilateral exchange grew by 27,7%, with Italian exports to the PRC increasing by 18,7% and Chinese exports to italy by 32,6%. Chinese companies invested almost one hundred billion US$ in Italy, a sing that they can find in our country reliable partners and that our businessmen have a strong capacity to communicate with them.

I am convinced that the upcoming Olympic games will provide further opportunities for exchanges between our two countries and people. Our athletes will compete, hopefully with success, in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong; our companies will contribute to the logistics of the events. It is my sincere hope that the wonderful showcase we will assist to in August will confirm the commitment of our people to the prosperity and development of their communities.

Message by the Consul General of Italy,
Mr. Alessandro De Pedys