An honour for a friend of Europe Prof. Paul Kan, Honorary Consul of Hungary in Hong Kong and Macao is awarded the FUECH Grand Cross of Merit for Outstanding Consular Work

匈牙利駐香港及澳門名譽領事簡文樂教授榮獲由歐盟名譽領事總會頒發之卓越領事成就大十字勳章

Honourable guests from various consulates and representatives from the Government of Hong Kong SAR celebrated the ceremony. Among the guests were (from left) Mr. Simon Peh, Commissioner of Independent Commission Against Corruption, Mr. Andrew Ma, Honorary Consul of Cote d’Ivoire, Mr. Sam Hui, Chief Staff Officer of Auxiliary Medical Service, Mr. Roger King, Honorary Consul of Latvia, Mr. Law Wing Chung, Political Assistant of the Financial Secretary of HKSAR, Mr. Gerhard Maynhardt, Consul General of Austria, Mr. Vincent Piket, Head of European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao SAR, Mr. Wilfred Mohr, Consul General of the Netherlands, Mr. Gaddam Dharmendra, Consul General of India, Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha, President of the Consular Corps Accredited to Hungary and Vice President for Diplomatic Affairs of FUECH, Mr. Jorgen Halldin, Consul General of Sweden, Mr. Nurzhan Abdymomunov, Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Jaroslav Kanturek, Consul General of Czech Republic, Mr. Werner Hans Lauk, Consul General of Germany, Mr. Mohamed Fahmy, Consul General of Egypt, Mr. Mariusz Boguszewski, Vice Consul of the Consulate General of Poland, Mr. Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood, Consul General of Bangladesh

多國領事館及香港特區政府代表到賀，嘉賓包括：( 左起) 廉政專員白韞六先生、科特迪瓦名譽領事馬照祥先生、醫療輔助隊總參事許偉光先生、拉脫維亞名譽領事金樂琦先生、財政司司長政治助理羅永聰先生、奧地利總領事Gerhard Maynhardt 先生、歐盟駐香港及澳門辦事處主任Mr. Vincent Piket、荷蘭總領事Wilfred Mohr 先生、印度總領事Gaddam Dharmendra 先生、匈牙利領事會會長暨歐盟名譽領事總會外交事務副會長 Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha、瑞典總領事Jorgen Halldin先生、哈薩克斯坦總領事Nurzhan Abdymomunov先生、捷克總領事Jaroslav Kanturek 先生、德國總領事Werner Hans Lauk 先生、埃及總領事Mohamed Fahmy 先生、波蘭領事館副領事Mariusz Boguszewski 先生、孟加拉國總領事Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood 先生。

Prof. Paul Kan photographed with the officiating guests Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha, President of the Consular Corps Accredited to Hungary and Vice President for Diplomatic Affairs of FUECH (left) and Mr. Vincent Piket, Head of European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao SAR (right) after the ceremony.

簡教授於典禮後與主禮嘉賓匈牙利領事會會長暨歐盟名譽領事總會外交事務副會長Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha( 左) 及歐盟駐香港及澳門辦事處主任Mr. Vincent Piket( 右) 合照。

Prof. Paul Kan, a prominent business leader and a distinguished philanthropist, is dedicated to serving the community by contributing to the promotion of charity, education and culture. Prof. Kan is also a highly regarded international diplomat, having been appointed the Honorary Consul of Hungary in the Hong Kong SAR and the Macao SAR in January 2011, prior to his role as the Convener of the Hungarian – Hong Kong Innovative Business Council for seven years. In his service as a diplomat, Prof. Kan has dedicated much of his energy and capacity towards preserving the Hungarian diplomatic heritage in Hong Kong and exporting the Hungarian culture to Asia. On 2nd April, 2013, the Federation of European Associations of Honorary Consuls (FUECH), represented by Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha, President of the Consular Corps Accredited to Hungary and Vice President for Diplomatic Affairs of FUECH, presented the Federation’s Grand Cross of Merit for Outstanding Consular Work to Prof. Kan in Hong Kong in recognition of his contribution towards the cultural exchange and international relationship between Europe and Asia.

Honourable guests and consulate representatives from Austria, Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Sweden, officials from the Government of Hong Kong SAR and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government gathered at the Award Ceremony held in the afternoon of 2nd April, 2013 at the Consulate of Hungary in Central, Hong Kong. After the introductory speeches by Mr. Vincent Piket, Head of European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao SAR, and Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha, President of the Consular Corps Accredited to Hungary and Vice President for Diplomatic Affairs of FUECH, Dr. Georges Suha presented the FUECH Grand Cross of Merit for Outstanding Consular Work to Prof. Paul Kan, followed by a vote of thanks by Prof. Kan to express his gratitude for this great honour.

Much obliged with this honorable recognition, Prof. Paul Kan remarked, “I am deeply humbled and greatly honoured to be awarded the FUECH Grand Cross of Merit for Outstanding Consular Work. I feel the Award is bestowed not just on me but on all my dear colleagues in the Consular Corps, and within my group companies, my business partners, my family and friends, and indeed all of us in Hong Kong, Macao, and China, enlightened with such amicable and co-operative spirit of our community for our international friends. As the Honorary Consul of Hungary in Hong Kong and Macao, I will continue to give my best in connecting the great cultures of the East and the West in the years to come. This award will certainly make me work harder towards sustaining the excellent relationship between the EU and Asia, in particular the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR.”

FUECH was founded on 17th April, 2004 in France by the national consular corps of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Slovenia with the aim of establishing the European Federation of honorary consular officers accredited to EU-member states. Other members include Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece and 8 non-EU member observers. FUECH is a global European network of Consular Associations created to support and improve the status, legitimacy and effectiveness of all consular officers in all receiving states. The FUECH Grand Cross of Merit has been established in recognition of distinguished services and commitment to EU bestowed on any individual in the world nominated and approved by the Federation. Only 5 such awards have been announced since inception and they were bestowed on:

•His Excellency Jose P. Cosmelli, Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Federation of Autonomous Priories

•Her Excellency Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia (awarded Nobel Peace Prize the year after)

•His Excellency Mr. Lawrence Gonzi, Prime Minister of Malta

•His Excellency Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone

•His Excellency Ing. Don Pastor Micha Ondo Bile, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Co-operation and Francophone Affairs of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea

Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha, President of the Consular Corps Accredited to Hungary and Vice President for Diplomatic Affairs of FUECH awarded the FUECH Grand Cross of Merit for Outstanding Consular Work to Prof. Paul Kan.

匈牙利領事會會長暨歐盟名譽領事總會外交事務副會長 Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha 頒授卓越領事成就大十字勳章予簡文樂教授。

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傑出商業領袖及著名慈善家簡文樂教授，對服務社會一直不遺餘力，致力推廣慈善、教育及文化發展。除此之外，簡教授更是一名國際外交家，擔任匈牙利–香港創新商務促進會召集人七年後，於二零一一年一月，簡教授獲委任為匈牙利駐香港特別行政區及澳門特別行政區名譽領事；自此，簡文樂教授加倍致力保存匈牙利外交傳統，更於亞洲大力推廣匈牙利文化。為表揚簡教授對促進歐亞文化交流及國際關係的努力，歐盟名譽領事總會 (Federation of European Associations of Honorary Consuls “FUECH”) 將於二零一三年四月二日，由匈牙利領事會會長暨歐盟名譽領事總會外交事務副會長Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha代表，於香港頒授卓越領事成就大十字勳章予簡文樂教授。

頒授儀式於二零一三年四月二日下午在香港中環的匈牙利領事館舉行。當日，領事館冠蓋雲集，貴賓及各國領事館代表包括奧地利、孟加拉國、科特迪瓦、捷克共和國、埃及、德國、希臘、匈牙利、印度、哈薩克斯坦共和國、拉脫維亞、盧森堡、荷蘭、巴基斯坦、波蘭、瑞典，以及香港特別行政區政府與中聯辦代表一同祝賀簡文樂教授喜獲榮銜。頒授儀式首先由歐盟駐香港及澳門辦事處主任Mr. Vincent Piket及匈牙利領事會會長暨歐盟名譽領事總會外交事務副會長 Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha致辭揭開序幕，然後由Ambassador Dr. Georges Suha代表FUECH頒授卓越領事成就大十字勳章予簡文樂教授，簡教授隨即獻辭，以表謝意。

簡教授於典禮後與眾嘉賓合照。

簡文樂教授對獲銜表示感激：「能夠獲FUECH頒授卓越領事成就大十字勳章，本人感到非常榮幸；這個榮銜除了是頒授予本人之外，更是頒授予駐港澳之各國外交人員、於冠軍集團的所有同事、業務伙伴、我的家人及朋友，及每一位在香港、澳門及中國的市民，是我們一起為來自全球的朋友締結了和睦及合作精神。作為匈牙利駐港澳名譽領事，我必定會繼續全力以赴，構建連繫東西文化的橋樑。此榮銜亦鼓勵我需更加努力，維繫歐盟與亞洲之間，尤其是中華人民共和國、香港特區以及澳門特區的良好關係。」

FUECH於二零零四年四月十七日由奧地利、比利時、法國、德國、荷蘭及斯洛文尼亞的領事團於法國創立，旨在建立一個代表歐盟成員國名譽領事的歐洲組織。其他成員包括保加利亞、匈牙利、拉脫維亞、立陶宛、盧森堡、羅馬尼亞、斯洛伐克、馬爾他、葡萄牙、西班牙、塞浦路斯、波蘭、捷克共和國、希臘和八個非歐盟成員國的觀察員。FUECH為一個全球性的歐洲領事網絡，其目的為提升各國領事館的地位、合法性和效率。FUECH的大十字勳章由FUECH提名及批准，以表揚任何對歐盟作出卓越貢獻的人士。大十字勳章設立以來，只有五人獲此榮銜，當中包括馬爾他騎士團大教長His Excellency Jose P. Cosmelli、利比里亞總統Her Excellency Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf（翌年獲得諾貝爾和平獎）、馬爾他總理His Excellency Mr. Lawrence Gonzi、塞拉利昂總統His Excellency Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma及赤道畿內亞外交、國際合作及法語事務部長His Excellency Ing. Don Pastor Micha Ondo Bile。