A staff worker introduces legislators to how visitors are guided to experience the application of smart card technology in Hong Kong's everyday life at the Hong Kong's Urban Best Practices Area exhibition at the Shanghai Expo Monday. Provided to China Daily

Shanghai - Hong Kong is a leader in the application of smart card technology. It was to see Hong Kong's achievement in the field, showcased at the Shanghai Expo, that members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo) went to wrap up their jam-packed, frantic three-day visit to the exposition.

The main theme of the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) exhibition at the Expo is "Smart Card, Smart City, Smart Life", where Hong Kong reveals to the world its unique connectedness and its creativity through extensive application of technology to various aspects of daily life.

Legislators visited the Hong Kong and Macao exhibitions, and the Shanghai General Motors Pavilion among others Monday.

At the UBPA exhibition, visitors are greeted by a six-meter-high facade, animated with interactive video graphics, designed to be sensitive to visitor flow patterns.

The highlight of the UBPA exhibition is the smart card technology and its effect on the quality of life. Smart cards make life more convenient, safe and efficient for millions of people living in Hong Kong, when they shop, park their cars, ride on public transit, go to school, enter and leave buildings, etc.

IT constituency lawmaker Samson Tam said Hong Kong is at the cutting edge with the Octopus smart card and the application of radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology. Many countries are learning from us, he said.

The Octopus card is widely used in different sectors and also by small companies/retailers, he said, because it is highly compatible with other systems while being safe from information leakage and hackers.

The RFID is useful in handling air cargoes and tracking sources of food for public health control.

Rounding up the visit, LegCo President Jasper Tsang said the Hong Kong and Macao exhibitions are different in terms of concept and visual effect.

Hong Kong emphasizes advanced technology and the application to urban life, while the Macao exhibition is entirely different, focusing upon tradition and heritage preservation.

For example, Macao's pavilion reproduced a pawnbroker's shop from the last century in proportion to the original size on-site, depicting the life of the ordinary people at that time.

"It took me back because I was born in the middle of the last century and have special affection for old things," he said.

Fred Li, the only one with a permanent home entry permit among the five Democratic Party delegates, said it was a successful duty visit.

China Daily

(HK Edition 05/11/2010 page1)