China News Service, February 6. According to Hong Kong's "Dian News" report, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Ka-chao, met with reporters before attending the executive meeting today (6th). Li Jiachao said that he was extremely disappointed that Messi did not play as expected by the public. Although the organizer has canceled the application for the "M" brand and funding, the SAR government will continue to require the organizer to clearly explain what happened to the public and respond to the public's requests and appeals to them.
Li Jiachao. Image source: Hong Kong "Dian News" photo by Wang Junjie
Li Jiachao said that the SAR government has done a lot of coordination in promoting this event, assisting the organizer in implementing the event, and striving to achieve the best results. The organizer's performance has a great impact on Hong Kong's image and reputation, especially when it comes to events. With government funding, the SAR government has more responsibility to supervise and ensure that public funds are used appropriately.
Li Jiachao said that for this event, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau’s personnel have been working hard to supervise the organizer’s activity arrangements and fully coordinate the efforts of various departments to assist and solve the organizer’s needs in various aspects. Different departments of the SAR government have also worked hard to participate and work with the organizer. Continuous communication allowed the event to be held smoothly and orderly, but Messi ultimately did not play in the game.
Li Jiachao said that the SAR government officials had previously explained the different suggestions and requirements in the process, including requiring the organizers to make arrangements on the spot to allow Messi to speak to the fans in person, explain the situation or give explanations, but the organizers did not respond to the SAR government's suggestions. None of the arrangements and requirements were met, which greatly disappointed the SAR government and fans.
After the incident, the Hong Kong Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau immediately launched investigation and response with a positive and rigorous attitude. After communication, the organizer voluntarily withdrew the "M" brand and the government funding application of HK$16 million. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau will continue to urge the organizers to actively respond to requests from all walks of life, including disclosing cooperation arrangements with the Inter Miami team, and actively responding to the opinions of fans who have purchased tickets.
The picture shows Messi (front) walking out of the tunnel before the game. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
Li Jiachao said that Hong Kong holds different types of international events every year, and they are all successfully completed. The key problem this time is that public expectations are not taken seriously and taken care of, which makes the audience, including enthusiastic children, extremely disappointed. The incident shows the role and responsibilities that organizers must play in organizing large-scale events. In particular, they must ensure that participating units have good communication and clear commitments in this event. In addition, they must ensure the importance of disseminating clear and accurate information to the public, so as to Meet the reasonable expectations of the public.
Li Ka-chiu said that he has asked the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the Major Sports Affairs Committee to review this practice and the supervisory roles, responsibilities and requirements when assisting in organizing large-scale events in the future. For example, organizers are required to formulate and provide backup plans in advance, optimize arrangements, and provide clear, accurate and real-time information dissemination so that citizens can clearly understand the situation and developments and make better personal decisions.
He continued that Hong Kong is a "hospitable city" and welcomes different organizations and institutions to hold activities in Hong Kong. Hong Kong and other places in the world will also hold large-scale events to promote economic growth and increase their own attractiveness. This is a high level Hong Kong must work hard to promote and strive for a competitive environment. The SAR government will continue to spare no effort to promote large-scale events to attract tourists and create opportunities. This goal will not change.
Li Jiachao also emphasized that he would like to thank the Hong Kong, China team for their hard work and display of team spirit and sportsmanship in the day's competition, and thank them for their hard work.