MESSAGE I am grateful to have this opportunity to extend my greetings and best wishes to the people of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Norwegian community in Hong Kong on our National Day.
Norway has had a Consulate-General in Hong Kong for more than 90 years, since 1906, just one year after becoming independent. The May 17 celebration is to honour the day when our constitution was proclaimed during the short-lived attempt at independence in 1814.
Real independence only came in 1905, but the 1814 constitution, much inspired by the ideas of the French and American revolutions, became a rallying point for our independence movement in the 19th century.
Being a young nation, we have always put great emphasis on stressing our national heritage. May 17 has also traditionally been a special day for the children of Norway, when they flock into the streets under their school banners and Norwegian flags and march past the local city hall, or as in Oslo, the Royal family on the balcony of the royal castle.
Norway and Hong Kong are far apart and may seem very different, Norway being 300 times the size of Hong Kong and having only 4.4 million people. Yet there are many bonds and similarities. And in this age of globalisation and frequent travel, geographical distance does not represent the same barrier as before.
Shipping has always been a major link. Norwegian ships have been active in the China trade for more than 100 years. Shanghai and later Hong Kong became important ports of call for Norwegian ships. We still have more than 200 Norwegian ships calling at Hong Kong every year and our maritime service industry is well represented here.