China News Service, Hong Kong, October 12th. Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Ka-chiu, stated on the 12th that the SAR government will join hands with the literary and art circles to fully promote the construction of Hong Kong as a Chinese and foreign cultural and artistic exchange center, from talent cultivation, industrialization to hardware support.
On the same day, a reception held by the Hong Kong cultural and art circles to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China was held in Hong Kong. Li Jiachao made the above speech at the meeting.
Li Jiachao pointed out that the country’s “15th Five-Year Plan” clearly supports Hong Kong’s deepening of the construction of a cultural and artistic exchange center between China and foreign countries. Hong Kong has a unique background of gathering Chinese and foreign cultures. It has advantages in internal and external connections under "one country, two systems" and has been serving as a bridge between mainland China and the world for many years.
Hong Kong's first five-year plan proposes to develop diversified literary, artistic and creative industries and improve a sustainable industrial ecosystem. It is expected that by 2030, the added value of Hong Kong's cultural and creative industries will increase to HK$170 billion, and the number of employees will increase to 228,000.
He believes that talent is the key to industry development. The new policy address emphasizes cultivating local talents and attracting talents from home and abroad to develop in Hong Kong, including supporting the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to promote the construction of a second campus in the northern metropolitan area and supporting the West Kowloon Cultural District College to launch short-term professional courses.
He said that in order to promote the industrialization and sustainable development of the performing arts, the SAR government will reform the arts group funding system, inject HK$200 million into the Arts and Sports Development Fund (arts part), and introduce a funding mechanism linked to performance and artistic level to encourage innovation, drive the industry to strive for the top, and expand the scale of the industry.
In terms of hardware, Li Ka-chao said that the West Kowloon Cultural District is an important strategic cultural infrastructure investment in Hong Kong and one of the largest cultural hubs in the world. It has cooperated with many top cultural and art institutions in the world, leading multiple exhibitions and performing arts programs to the mainland and overseas to tell the story of Hong Kong. When the West Kowloon Performing Arts Center opens next year, Hong Kong will add four performance venues built to the standards of top international theaters, injecting new momentum into the development of culture and art.
At the meeting, Fok Chen-ting, co-chairman and honorary patron of the Hong Kong Cultural and Arts National Day Preparatory Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Preparatory Committee"), delivered a speech and said that this year Hong Kong will formulate its first five-year plan and proactively align with the development blueprint of the country's "15th Five-Year Plan". The Hong Kong Cultural and Arts Association will unite and work together to achieve the ambitious goals in the plan.
Au Wing-hee, co-chairman of the organizing committee and honorary patron, said that in the face of the challenges brought by new technologies such as artificial intelligence in the future, while embracing technology, Hong Kong's cultural and art circles must stick to their original aspirations and move forward to contribute to the promotion of China's excellent traditional culture and the enhancement of the country's cultural soft power.
