Gates stops over in HK

Hong Kong- In his recent visit to China, Bill Gates, billionaire philanthropist and chairman of Microsoft, emphasized the need for a vital academic and scientific community to a knowledge-based economy during his stopover in Hong Kong.

Joined by academic researchers, industry leaders and policy makers including Donald Tsang, Gates made the remark for the Microsoft Research Asia's (MRS) 10^th Anniversary Innovation Forum at the University of Hong Kong last night. The event was organized by Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.

"Researchers in academia play an essential role in expanding the boundaries of scientific knowledge and driving progress," Gates said.

He articulated that intellectual property protection is critical to the health of a vibrant IT industry and to innovation in Hong Kong. Anti-piracy efforts by government and industry bodies are producing positive results and will continue to benefit Hong Kong's economic future.

"There are some things we have to be careful about, making sure that for these technology advances we understand exactly the impact they're having."