Source: CCTV.com

06-25-2007 09:31

Special Report:   HK 10 Years

In late 2006, the Lands Department of Hong Kong was conducting a new lar nge- scale aerial mapping survey of the HK Special Administrative Region. In the process, helicopters carrying aerial photographers took off from the HK International Airport, where the Government Flying Service was headquartered, and flew across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories collecting the most up-to-date data and images.

Over the past ten years, Hong Kong has been experiencing a period of tremendous development with new buildings popping up everywhere, some even pushing the city limits further into what, not long ago, had been the sea.

The Lands Department is responsible for 90% of the various land administrative matters concerning Hong Kong, and one of these is land surveying. According to the most recent data, every year, surveyors take more than 10,000 aerial photos as part of updating the more than 11,000 digital maps of the area.

Every morning, ten-year-old Cheung Hsin Yau begins her day by watering the plants outside. She and her brother enjoy helping Mom prepare the first meal of the day.

This is an ordinary family in Hong Kong. Cheung’s father is an employee of the Hong Kong government, while her mother takes care of Cheung and her brother, having left her government job years ago in order to do so. In Hong Kong, many people are familiar with this little girl because of her unique birth date. She was born at 00:00 (zero hundred) hours on July 1st, 1997, the very moment when Hong Kong was officially returned to the sovereignty of China.

Mondays are always special for Cheung. She arrives at school before 8:00 am to attend an important ceremony: the raising of the flag of the People’s Republic of China.

At Golden Bauhinia Square, the police officers are also getting ready for the flag raising ceremony, a daily activity that has been taking place here for 10 years.

Cheung Hsin Yau’s birthday, July 1st, 1997, happened to mark the beginning of a new era for people in Hong Kong, and during the past ten years, people can be seen embracing the new era in a variety of ways. For the teachers and students at Cheung’s school (a Catholic primary school near her home), the flag raising ceremony every Monday morning is a solemn but heart-warming experience.