July 1 this year marks the 26th anniversary of Handover of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, met the media on the 20th before attending the executive meeting and said that the SAR government and public institutions would take the lead in launching a series of activities and preferential measures to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the handover. It is reported that on July 1, people can use many recreational and cultural facilities under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department for free; You can visit all M+exhibitions and 7 special exhibitions of the Hong Kong Palace Museum for free. In addition, the permanent exhibitions or thematic exhibitions of several museums and Hong Kong Wetland Park will be open to the public free of charge. In terms of public transport, citizens can take the Star Ferry, trams, etc. for free. In addition, there are over a thousand restaurants offering discounts on designated dishes or dining products. The current SAR government will celebrate its full anniversary on July 1st this year. In this regard, John Lee Ka-chiu said that after taking office, the SAR government's heavy responsibility is to pragmatically lead Hong Kong to overcome the epidemic and get out of the haze of the epidemic, to integrate with the mainland and the world in an all-round way, to embark on the fast lane of recovery, so that Hong Kong can compete in economy, development and competitiveness, and fully grasp all kinds of opportunities. He said that the Hong Kong market has been full of vitality recently. International conferences, exhibitions, concerts and other events of all sizes are held in Hong Kong one after another, and a series of promotional activities such as "Happy Hong Kong" and "Hello Hong Kong" by the SAR government have also boosted Hong Kong's tourism and consumption. The number of visitors to Hong Kong continues to rebound, and the number of inbound passengers in the first five months of this year has exceeded the threshold of millions. On June 20, the HKSAR government said that on the 26th anniversary of Handover of Hong Kong, it would launch a number of activities to celebrate the return with the public, including free access to most of the facilities of the Department of Culture and Sport, free visit to all exhibitions in West Kowloon Cultural Zone M and 7 thematic exhibitions in the Hong Kong Palace Museum, free tram ride, and the Star Ferry between Tsim Sha Tsui and Wanchai. The picture shows the information map of Hong Kong citizens visiting the Hong Kong Palace Museum. In addition, Hong Kong's economy is gradually recovering. John Lee Ka-chiu introduced that Hong Kong's GDP growth in the first quarter of this year reversed the decline for four consecutive quarters, the unemployment rate recovered to 3%, and the median income of citizens also rose. Although the external economic environment remains tense and affects imports and exports, driven by the tourism industry and local consumer demand, it is expected that Hong Kong's economic growth rate will be between 3.5% and 5.5% this year, reversing the negative growth trend of the previous year. "At present, the overall social atmosphere in Hong Kong is happy and lively, full of confidence and hope. The SAR government will continue to lead the community to strive for economy, development and competitiveness together," said John Lee Ka-chiu. (New News Agency)