The Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong and Macao is pleased to announce that Mr. Hing Chao, Executive Chairman of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Limited (\u201cWah Kwong\u201d), has been bestowed with the Ufficiale dell\u2019Ordine della Stella d\u2019Italia (Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy), for his outstanding contribution to strengthening economic and industrial ties between Italy and Hong Kong, and for his role in promoting Italian maritime expertise on the international stage.<\/p>\n
Conferred by the President of the Italian Republic upon recommendation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, this accolade recognises individuals who achieved extraordinary results in fostering bilateral relations, cultural exchanges, and commercial ties between Italy and the relevant Country.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Chao\u2019s commitment to enhancing Italy\u2019s industrial presence abroad, promoting Italian excellence in ship management and design, and facilitating cross-continental collaboration is admirable and has contributed to foster friendly relations and cooperation between Italy and Hong Kong,\u201d said Carmelo Ficarra, Consul General of Italy in Hong Kong and Macao.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a great honour to receive this award, and I feel deeply humbled by it. I know many talented people who have come before me, achieving far more in fostering relations and representing our shared culture and values. I am profoundly grateful to join this esteemed gathering of people,\u201d said Mr. Chao.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, this is the beginning of the journey, and among the aspects, what I cherish most is the wealth of common ground between China and Italy. The key element is our shared values to pass on to our successor. We regard this continuity as straightforward and natural, among individuals, institutions, and nations alike. Between Italian and the Hong Kong shipping community, we now possess genuine momentum.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe there is much more we can accomplish to build and fortify the bridges between our two ancient civilisations, and I am optimistic about partnership between Italy and Hong Kong and China going forward across multiple settings,\u201d said Mr. Chao.<\/p>\n
As the third generation at the helm of Wah Kwong, Mr. Chao has driven the company\u2019s European expansion. A pivotal move was welcoming Genoa-based Crystal Pool in 2023 and rebranded it as Venture Ship Management (Europe). The subsidiary with Italian staff offers technical management and consultancy, serving as a vital bridge between Asian and European maritime markets. In leisure shipping, the subsidiary acquired the award-winning SP110 yacht from Sanlorenzo and the first in Hong Kong to be recognised with RINA\u2019s smart class notation.<\/p>\n
Mr. Chao\u2019s leadership extends to key organisations across Italy. He is a member of Assarmatori (Italian shipowners association) and chairs RINA\u2019s Asia Decarbonisation Committee, driving international collaboration on emissions reduction. Wah Kwong collaborates with RINA on feasibility studies in onboard carbon capture and molten carbon fuel cells.<\/p>\n
Besides shipping, Mr. Chao\u2019s cross-cultural initiatives in arts, culture, and sports have driven dialogues between Chinese and Italian traditions, through his roles as Founder and Chairman of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Earthpulse Society and Hong Kong Culture Festival, and Founder and Executive Director of the International Guoshu Association.<\/p>\n
Major projects led by Mr. Chao include the 2024 \u201cNew Silk Road in Martial Studies Exhibition: Dialogue in Martial Art Texts between East and West\u201d in Taipei, showcasing over 50 martial arts manuals from Italy and China. The 2021 \u201cWay of the Sword: Warrior Traditions in China and Italy\u201d in Hong Kong, supported by the Consulate General of Italy, featured historic swords, manuscripts, and artifacts. The exhibition was coincided with the 3rd International Martial Studies Conference in 2020, where experts\u2019 views on martial culture and historical martial arts in Itay and China were collected to form the 2023 open-access book Martial Culture and Historical Martial Arts in Europe and Asia. The book was sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong and Macao is pleased to announce that Mr. Hing Chao, Executive Chairman of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Limited (\u201cWah Kwong\u201d), has been bestowed with the Ufficiale dell\u2019Ordine della Stella d\u2019Italia (Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy), for his outstanding contribution to strengthening economic and […]","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7025,"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7016\/revisions\/7025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conshongkong.esteri.it\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}