"Let´s Play Ping Pong”- Kong Comics Exhibition (Action Day: 11:30 on 17 June 2017)

Speaking Points for D(BL)

Mrs (Jenny) Kästner, Connie, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning! Welcome to our comics exhibition – “Let’s Play Ping Pong”! Today’s exhibition is the part of a series of activities that we organise in Berlin this year, in celebration of 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Comics appear in many forms in our daily lives, from comics strips we read on newspapers to adapted superhero films produced in Hollywood. As you can see from the timeline exhibited here today, comics and animation have been important elements of Hong Kong culture since the 1960s and mirror its social development. Many beloved works, such as Old Master Q, McDull and Chinese Hero form a part of the fond childhood memories of many , with story lines settings and personalities that reflect their lifestyle, values and spirit.

This week, we are glad to have invited “Ping Pong”, a group of young and talented Hong Kong comics artists, to Berlin and share with us the new generation of energy in the comics world. What so special about the sport “ping pong” (i.e. table tennis) is that it takes more than one player. This concept is built into our comics artists group that they produce their work through interaction with people. Today, “Ping Pong” will be happy to exchange directly with visitors on their comics ideas and techniques, and perform live jamming with local German comics artists.

Hong Kong, apart from being an international financial and trading hub, is also well known for its diverse and vibrant culture, with a distinct flavour of “East meets West”. To showcase the different faces of Hong Kong, we are staging another exhibition on the West Kowloon Cultural District at AEDES Architectural Forum from now until 13 July; then on 22 June, we will showcase a theatrical performance by a famous group from Hong Kong, the Tang Shu Wing Theatre Studio, of a new version of Shakespeare’s work “Macbeth”; followed by a gala dinner on 27 June, featuring special Hong Kong cuisines prepared by culinary masters flying all the way from Hong Kong; and finally in the second half of July, a Hong Kong film festival at Arsenal.

Hong Kong has accomplished a lot in the last 20 years, from completion of new infrastructure projects, to achievements in economic performance, academic and cultural pursuits. These were all made possible under the “One Country, Two Systems”, which enables Hong Kong to fully utilize our strengths to progress further. In short, we stay together; we have made progress; and we are ready for new opportunities. I look forward to sharing with you more of our stories in our upcoming events.

Before I close my speech, I would like to thank Communications Museum in Berlin and Hong Kong Art Centre for their support for the exhibition. Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you will enjoy the exhibition compiled with passion, and wish you a lovely weekend!