PRESS RELEASE
16 March 1997
Mr. Martin Lee to Receive The National Endowment for Democracy's 1997 Democracy Award
The US National Endowment for Democracy has announced that Democratic Party Chairman Martin Lee will receive the National Endowment's top honour, the 1997 Democracy Award. This honour is awarded every two years to democratic figures who have actively worked to establish or preserve democratic institutions.
The award was first presented to Congressman Dante Fascell in 1987, who was instrumental in the founding of the National Endowment for Democracy. Other recipients have included Vaclav Havel (Czechoslovakia), Violeta Chamorro (Nicaragua), Elena Bonner (Russia) and Monique Mujawamariya (Rwanda).
The award will be presented at a reception on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, April 9, 1997. Martin Lee will travel to Washington, DC to accept it during his 13-city US and Canadian speaking tour.
Responding to the news of the award, Mr. Lee said:
"This is a great honour, which reflects the efforts of all Hong Kong people to preserve freedom and democracy in our home. At the award ceremony, I intend to tell the National Endowment for Democracy and the American people of Hong Kong's role as an international city and to emphasise the stake the world community has in ensuring the flame of democracy is not extinguished in Hong Kong."
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