Hong Kong’s iconic Bank of China Tower opens in 1990 – SCMP archive

Acrimony set aside at Tower festivitiesBy Goeffrey CrothallThis article was first published on May 18, 1990Leaders of politics, finance and commerce from Hongkong and China converged on No 1 Garden Road last night to celebrate the official opening of the territory’s tallest building, the China-tower" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="128324" data-entity-type="location">China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="26029" data-entity-type="organization">Bank of China Tower.The acrimony and terse exchanges of recent weeks were seemingly forgotten as smiles and handshakes abounded. Even the Chief Secretary, Sir David Ford, managed a smile as he was pushed aside by China-news-agency" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="128326" data-entity-type="organization">New China News Agency director Mr Zhou Nan and his party with a crowd of photographers in tow.Mr Wang Deyan (second from left), President of the China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="26029" data-entity-type="organization">Bank of China, and Mr Zhou Nan (centre), Director of the China-news-agency" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="128326" data-entity-type="organization">New China News Agency, perform the ribbon-cutting ceremony which marks the opening of the China-tower" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="128324" data-entity-type="location">China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="26029" data-entity-type="organization">Bank of China Tower in 1990. Photo: SCMPThe mood of conciliation was summed up by China’s senior representative on the Joint Liaison Group, Mr Guo Fengmin, who said: “There have been a few problems of late, but I am confident they will be resolved in the near future and the Chinese and British sides will continue to work closely together in the run up to 1997.”In his opening address, the president of the China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="26029" data-entity-type="organization">Bank of China, Mr Wang Deyan, made a special point of thanking the Hongkong Government for its support in the construction of the bank’s Hongkong headquarters.