Each year at this time, the Chamber begins the annual membership renewal
process by sending renewal notices to our members. We naturally look back at the year to
see what we have done for members and how we can persuade them to renew their membership.
Many of you do appreciate the work we do and the services we provide by signing up again,
but unfortunately -- and disappointingly for us -- some of you apparently do not believe
that there are sufficient reasons for you to renew your membership.
This year, as we look back at 2003, we found more reasons than ever for
you to continue your membership in the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Two acronyms
stand out in trying to catalogue what we have done for you this year: SARS and CEPA. One
was bad news for Hong Kong, and the other is good news for Hong Kong. And the Chamber
worked hard on both of them.
With SARS, we helped members through words and through action. While Hong
Kong was fighting this terrible disease on the medical front, we fought on the economic
front. We solicited views, many of them heart-wrenching, from our members and suggestions
to forward to the government on what it should do -- many were adopted by the government.
We offered advice to members on what they should do to weather the storm. We told the
world of the true situation here in Hong Kong by drafting letters for our members to send
out to friends and clients overseas and by speaking out to our international contacts and
to the international press. We participated in the Operation Unite campaign to bring
society together, and we offered a 555 Revival plan for Hong Kong that was widely
acknowledged as being the appropriate plan to take Hong Kong upwards again.
With CEPA, many people know the Chamber initiated this idea back in 2000.
Vice Premier Wu Yi, in our Chamber's meeting with her in early September, told me that
this idea was "excellent, and had creativity!" The public acknowledges that the
Chamber played a persistent and pivotal role in pushing for this agreement to be signed in
late June this year. Our education process of our members and of the community went
unabated in early 2003 and also in the second half after signing. Many of our members'
suggestions were taken aboard by the SAR and Central governments. While we realise that
not every member of the Chamber will benefit from CEPA, many will directly and others
indirectly. At the very least, confidence has returned to Hong Kong thanks to a large part
to CEPA. Finally, we published a 140-page CEPA Report on November 1 to help members take
advantage of CEPA.(see
http://www.chamber.org.hk/wto/content/CEPA_order_form.asp)
So on SARS and CEPA, members can see concrete results from the Chamber's
work. These two issues, together with the information, services, and networking
opportunities we provide to our members, surely are good enough reasons for all of you to
renew. I hope you agree with me by renewing as soon as you receive our renewal notice. We
thank you in advance.