Monday April 28, 2008 Hong Kong Alan Tam (譚詠麟), Eric Tsang (曾志偉), Liza Wang (汪明荃), Moses Chan (陳豪), Kate Tsui (徐子珊) and Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) were among the artistes taking part in the Welcome The Olympic Flame <全民迎聖火> press conference yesterday to show the united support to the controversial torch relay by members of the showbiz industry. The torch is due to arrive in Hong Kong on 02 May. HKPAG president Alan said that for China to host the Olympic Games this year should be the pride of every Chinese person all over the world, so there should be a show unity and support from every Chinese person. He added that when the World Cup was held in Korea in 2002, every Korean citizen showed total support by wearing red or football shirts and he hoped that a similar show of patriotism will be seen on Friday. Alan revealed that in a joint collaboration between HKPAG, TVB, ATV and CRHK, there will be special events held at Olympian City, Kwun Tong's apm, Times Square and Tuen Mun Town Plaza as well as the three torch relay points of Shatin Racecourse, Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Wanchai's Golden Bauhinia Square. Musical acts confirmed for the events include Wynners (溫拿), Denise Ho (何韻詩), Kary Ng (吳雨霏), at17, Yumi (裕美) and EO2. He also pointed out that as this is a mark of respect for the government and their duties as citizens, the artistes will not be taking a fee for their work. Asked if he was worried about protests that will take place at the events, Alan said that he will trust the organising parties to handle any incidents. He also urged the public to show their respect for the Hong Kong and Chinese flags and not to throw them onto the floor after the show has finished, suggesting that they are saved for the games themselves to show their support again. Eric seemed very emotional at the event and said that he was quite upset by the reports of disturbances. He revealed that from the day that the games were awarded to Beijing, he has been very excited about it, so the reports have left him a little nervous, but he is confident that the Chinese people will unite to show their support. He added that Hong Kong is a very unique city because it is an international cosmopolitan with many different people of different ethnicities, so he hopes that on Friday, everyone will show their support by wearing something red. credits: batgwa.
