Fight Crime Ambassadors meet CE prior to leaving for Australia

The competition has been judged as the best community relations project in the 6th China Golden Awards for Excellence in Public Relations. It has won the Gold Award - the highest honour - in the "Community Relations" category of the Awards.

This biennial award competition, organised by the China International Public Relations Association, is open to entries from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It is the most recognised and reputable public relations award competition on the Mainland.

Results of the award competition were announced at the China International Public Relations Congress 2004 held recently in Beijing. There were 18 categories in the 6th China Golden Awards for Excellence in Public Relations, and only 14 Gold Awards have been given out among the 18 categories.

The "Hang Seng Bank - Help the Police Fight Youth Crime Competition" is aimed at encouraging youngsters to put forward innovative ideas and suggestions to enhance public awareness of the serious consequences of committing crimes and to help youngsters steer a straight path. In view of competition's increasing popularity, Hang Seng Bank had entered the award competition with the 2002 fight crime competition, which attracted over 110,000 entries - then the highest participation rate in a single crime prevention contest organised by the Force.

Commissioner Lee Ming-kwai has written to the Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive of Hang Seng Bank, Mr Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen, to congratulate the bank in obtaining the PR Gold Award.

Mr Lee said the Gold Award is not only an endorsement of the bank's commitment to nurturing community awareness of the fight against crime, but also an international recognition of the partnership between the bank and the Force in maintaining Hong Kong as one of the safest cities in the world.

He thanked the bank for supporting the fight crime competition over the past decade and looked forward to its continued backing for "this meaningful initiative and other community relations activities in the future".

Fight Crime Ambassadors meet CE

Meanwhile, 15 Fight Crime Ambassadors, aged 13 to 22, left on an award-winning trip to Australia on July 19. They are winners of different categories of the "Hang Seng Bank - Help the Police Fight Youth Crime Competition 2004", which was launched in March.

Highlights of the Fight Crime Ambassadors' itinerary include visits to police forces and schools in Melbourne and Sydney where they will meet officers from local law enforcement agencies and students to share experiences in fighting youth crime.

Prior to their departure, the Fight Crime Ambassadors, accompanied by Mr Lee, met the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, in his office on July 17, and were praised by the Chief Executive for their outstanding performances in the fight crime competition.

"Your parents and teachers should be proud of what you have done," Mr Tung told the youngsters.

"You will get a taste of a different social culture, broaden your horizons during the trip and acquire knowledge that you cannot learn from schools. I believe the trip will make the summer vacation a lifetime experience for all of you," he added.

After the meeting, the Commissioner hosted a lunch for the Fight Crime Ambassadors at the Police Officers' Club.

Open to primary, secondary and tertiary students, this year's fight crime competition has attracted a record number of over 120,000 entries. The Ambassadors were selected from some 50,000 competitors in various challenges, including essay writing, leadership exercise and tests on presentation skills and English proficiency.

The fight crime competition will culminate with a prize presentation to be held at TVB City on July 31. The ceremony will be broadcast on TVB-Jade Channel on August 6.

A lifetime experience is in store for Fight Crime Ambassadors