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Calgary’s Chinese community gathered recently with friends and colleagues at the Regency Palace Restaurant to welcome the Year of the Pig.
Hosted by the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (HKCBA), Calgary Section, the gala is the highlight of the year for the organization. Founded in 1984, the HKCBA is a non-profit bilateral trade association with over 1,000 members in eight locations across the country. The mission of the Calgary chapter is to help its members conduct business using Hong Kong as a platform to enter the Asian market. Further, the association each year donates $10,000 in scholarships to four deserving students — two from Mount Royal University (MRU) and two from the University of Calgary (U of C) who have demonstrated exceptional academic ability and a desire to build upon Canada-Hong Kong bilateral relations.
Highlights of the evening were numerous including: a champagne reception, courtesy of Stikeman Elliott; $25 CORE gift cards for all guests; LAB11 complimentary facials; a sumptuous 10-course meal; traditional Lion Dance performed by the Jing Wo Cultural Association; more than 50 silent auction items donated by HKCBA’s generous partners; live music; and the grand prize, a pair of Birks Snowflake Snowstorm diamond earrings worth a cool $12,000.
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Guests in attendance this night included: Caroline Saunders, U.K. Consul General; Madame Lu Xu, Chinese Consul General; Lucia Piazza, U.S. Consul General; Shigenobu Kobayashi, Japan Consul General; Gilberto Asuque, Consul General, Philippines; Emily Mo, director, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, along with deputy director, Florence Tsang and principal consultant, Catherine Yuen; Alex Henderson, partner at KPMG and HKCBA Calgary Section president; U of C president Ed McCauley and Janaka Ruwanpura, vice-provost international; emcee Scott Vu; MRU president David Docherty; HKCBA gala chairs and directors John Dong of Royal Liquor Merchants and George Tai of Dentons; Calgary Zoo’s Clement Lanthier, Telus Spark’s Barry Crean; The CORE’s Allison Onyett; Birks general manager, Susanne Ventura with colleague Scott McNamara; LAB11’s Maria Wu and Nathan Chan; MLA and past HKCBA president Richard Gotfried; MLA’s Jamie Kleinsteuber and Karen McPherson; and Councillor Sean Chu.
The evening also coincided with the 35th Anniversary of HKCBA as a national association so it was apt indeed that many past presidents attended including: Raymond Kan of Perma Insurance; Richard Li of Swan Group; TD Wealth’s Audrey Kwan; Tim Onyett of Deloitte; and immediate past president, Manford Kwan. Others in attendance are pictured.
With files from HKCBA
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Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.