The Chamber's 140th Anniversary Year is drawing to a close with a bang. On November 29, we had our last 140th Anniversary Distinguished Speaker. He was MOFTEC Vice Minister Long Yongtu, who happens to be China's chief WTO negotiator who played a key role in getting China into the WTO on December 11 after 15 years. Our final event of the year, the 8th Annual Business Summit on December 13, will provide an opportunity for our members to listen to and have a dialogue with top Hong Kong businessmen and women on how they are preparing for China's WTO entry.

For each of the Chamber's nine WTO workshops held since September we have had a full house, and our WTO Corner on our Web site (www.chamber.org.hk) -- on which we post the audio recordings of every WTO seminar we hold -- is visited increasingly by many countries around the world. The Chamber has now become the recognized expert on China WTO entry in Hong Kong. It is heartening to see the Chamber play such an important part in helping Hong Kong businesses prepare for the brand new economic landscape in China.

On the policy front, whether it is on the racial discrimination bill, or on the new IPR ordinance, or on people/goods movement across the border, or on legislation affecting SMEs, or on advocating a Free Trade Area agreement between Hong Kong and the Mainland, the Chamber has never shied away from being your voice with the government. All this is in addition to the regular submissions for the Policy Address and the Budget.

This very successful year for the Chamber could not have been possible without the support of all our members. And now we need your support for next year, by renewing your Chamber membership for 2002. You should have received an invoice and a letter requesting renewal from our Membership Committee Chairman David Eldon of HSBC. We know that times are tough in Hong Kong and cost-cutting is taking place everywhere. But we firmly believe the small amount you pay for Chamber membership per year results in information, networking, and opportunities far beyond the money involved. Therefore, I hope you can acknowledge what we have done for our members in our anniversary year by renewing as soon as you can for next year. Our operations depend on your membership.