Hong Kong Post issued on Tuesday a new set of stamps, "Children Stamps -- Andersen's Fairy Tales," at a ceremony at the Hong Kong General Post Office.
   
Postmaster General of Hong Kong Allan Chiang, Consul-General of the Royal Danish Consulate General Soren Kragholm marked the occasion by stamping an enlarged first day cover.
   
"Our fairy tale stamps are a fitting tribute to one of the world's best-loved children's storytellers, Hans Christian Andersen, in this bicentenary year of his birth," said Chiang.
   
The Andersen stamps were created in a unique design by Michael Fung and incorporated the paper-cutting style of Ms. Lu Xue. Both of these artists are to be commended on their very fine work.
   
Chiang hoped that this special children's stamp issue, which is part of the series of Children Stamps first introduced in 2001, would encourage youngsters to read more literature and become interested in stamps as a healthy and educational hobby.
   
Kragholm said, "It is a great honor to have an historic Danish countryman acknowledged in such a wonderful way in Hong Kong and I am certain that philatelists the world over will be eager to collect these exceptional stamps."

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2005)