From left: Austrian Deputy Consul General Michael Kratzer, Financial Secretary John Tsang, Consul General Dr Claudia Reinprecht with her son, and Trade Commissioner Franz Roessler.
Austrian Consul General Dr Claudia Reinprecht has made a case for glocalism as she led the Austrian National Day celebration in Hong Kong on 25 October.
The year 2016 marks the 200th year of Salzburg, most commonly known as being the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the stage of Sound of Music, in Austria following the Congress of Vienna with the Treaty of Munich in 1816. “Many of us here in Hong Kong have multiple identities as, say, a Salzburger, as Austrian, European, and some of us as world citizens,” Dr Reinprecht noted in her welcome message. “By the same token, the principle of subsidiary ensures that, depending on the challenge one is faced with, action is taken in the most appropriate and effective way either on a global, national, regional or local level.”
The consul general also highlighted the recent launch of direct flights between Hong Kong and Vienna by Austrian Airlines last month, the establishment of the Hong Kong-Vienna Music Festival and a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Austrian Technology Corporation and the Smart City Consortium.
Financial Secretary John Tsang was the guest of honour of the night, calling on wine-lovers to take the opportunity of the door-to-door flights to visit Austria’s 17,000-plus vineyards. Other distinguished guests include Under Secretary for Home Affairs Florence Hui, Co-chairman of the Smart City Consortium steering committee Dr Winnie Tang as well as members of the diplomatic and Austrian communities.
