Following is a question by the Hon Jeffrey Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (November 13):
Question:
There are views that with the completion of "cultural and creative parks" such as the West Kowloon Cultural District, the PMQ, The Mills, in recent years, Hong Kong has successfully shaken off its image as a "cultural desert", and members of the public have attached increasing importance to the development of the cultural and creative industries (CCI). In addition, according to the data of the Census and Statistics Department, the value added of CCI accounted for 4.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2020 to 2022, indicating that CCI continues to have certain economic value despite the impact of the epidemic. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the policy measures in place to promote the development of CCI in the future, and whether it has estimated the contribution of the industries to GDP and their potential economic contribution in the next five years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) as there are views that performing arts are an important component of CCI, whether the authorities will provide local performers with more room for development, including making more performance venues available, increasing art workers' access to government subsidies and relaxing their fundraising channels, so as to promote the popularisation of arts and culture in Hong Kong;
(3) given that the soon-to-be-opened Kai Tak Sports Park will host various international events to attract a large number of tourists, whether the Government has plans to leverage this advantage to promote local arts tourism; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether it will consider constructing an arts park or large-scale arts and cultural facilities in the Northern Metropolis; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The arts, cultural and creative industries (CCI) are the important parts for creating a diversified economy in Hong Kong. In 2022, the added value of CCI exceeded $120 billion, accounting for 4.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) actively supports the development of CCI, promoting collaboration and organic integration between Chinese and other cultures, and realising the strategic positioning of supporting Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange with the support in the National 14th Five-Year Plan with a view to contributing to the strengthening of international communication capacity of the country.
My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Jeffrey Lam's question is as follows:
(1) The current-term Government is fully committed to promoting the development of CCI as industries. We have completed the restructuring of the Create Hong Kong as the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) in June 2024 as proposed by the Chief Executive in the 2023 Policy Address. The CCIDA is playing a more proactive and positive role to strengthen its support for the development of the CCI under the industry-oriented principle.
The CCIDA works vigorously to foster the creation of an ecosystem that is conducive to the development of CCI, developing CCI as a new driving force for Hong Kong's economy, and branding Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital. For example, the Hong Kong Fashion Design Week will be organised annually starting from 2024 as proposed by the Chief Executive in the 2023 Policy Address, with Hong Kong Fashion Fest as its brand. The core programmes of the inaugural Hong Kong Fashion Fest will take place at different locations in Hong Kong from November 20 to December 4, 2024, consolidating various fashion events to promote the development of Hong Kong's fashion and textile design brands and to reaffirm Hong Kong's position as a prime destination for hosting major cultural and creative events, thereby further promoting the development of the fashion design industry in Hong Kong. As a brand-new flagship event, the Hong Kong Fashion Fest aims to attract prestigious fashion brands and industry players from Hong Kong, the Mainland and abroad. We will develop the Hong Kong Fashion Fest into an annual signature event series, with a view to elevating the international profile of local fashion design. In addition, the CCIDA will continue to sponsor the Hong Kong Design Centre to organise the Design of Business Week 2024 (BODW 2024) from December 2 to 7 this year in collaboration with France as the partner country. Under the theme "Inter/Section: Design, Artistry and Innovation", the BODW Summit will gather over 50 leaders, policymakers and entrepreneurs from all over the world to explore and exchange design knowledge and innovative thinking, and present more than 40 forums and keynote speeches. The event is expected to attract over 900 000 participants/viewership in the exchange. The CCIDA will also sponsor the organisation of a large-scale Hong Kong original art toy exhibition in Jakarta, Indonesia from November 15 to 24, 2024, and 12 exhibiting Hong Kong designers to conduct extended activities and explore local market. Apart from showcasing the Hong Kong original art toys of different generations, the exhibition will also feature cross-sectoral collaboration with Hong Kong comic artists, thereby enabling Hong Kong original art toy designers and comic artists to explore overseas markets.
With the efforts of the CCIDA, we hope that the industries will make use of their innovative spirit and introduce various kinds of new products and services so as to contribute to Hong Kong's economic growth and job opportunities in the coming years by driving the development of other related sectors such as tourism and retail, enhancing cultural confidence and improving the sense of fulfilment of citizens. Furthermore, it plays a crucial role for solidifying Hong Kong's position as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange and telling good stories of China and Hong Kong.
(2) The Government is committed to constructing world-class cultural facilities and multicultural spaces, providing more opportunities for the arts sector to organise more local and international cultural and arts activities, and allowing more arts groups and artists to showcase their creative works.
For performance venues, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department continues to improve and expand existing facilities, including the ongoing construction of Yau Ma Tei Theatre Phase 2 as well as the facility improvement works of Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre and Tai Po Civic Centre. Moreover, the Government commenced construction of the New Territories East Cultural Centre (NTECC) in Fanling in July 2023. Upon completion, the NTECC will provide performing facilities of various scales, including two first-of-their-kind facilities in Hong Kong: a children's theatre and two incubator rooms equipped with professional stage facilities for artists to conduct experimental creative works and nurture new productions.
The East Kowloon Cultural Centre (EKCC) has opened its spaces in phases and is undergoing internal facility installation and optimisation. It has launched the "Unbox EKCC" Trial Programmes Series at various venue facilities in preparation for full opening. The EKCC will be equipped with latest innovative stage equipment and systems, and will set up an arts technology incubator to provide a testing platform for artists and technology professionals.
The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is one of the most important cultural infrastructure projects of the Government, providing performing arts venue and open spaces for different arts and cultural activities. The Grand Theatre and Tea House Theatre of Xiqu Centre, black box theatre and various multi-purpose venue in Freespace, and Art Park, in which large-scale performances can be held, bring together renowned and rising artists and arts groups from Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas and present performing arts programmes spanning multiple genres including xiqu, music, theatre and dance. Lyric Theatre Complex, which is currently under construction, would provide theatres of different capacities and a number of rehearsal studios upon completion, becoming a centre of excellence showcasing the best of Hong Kong and international dance and theatre.
The Government has been providing suitable support to the arts and culture sectors through different funding models and schemes, such as regular subvention to the major performing arts groups, and funding support through the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme (ACDFS) for cross-year arts and cultural projects/activities that are of certain scale, with a view to enhancing capacity development of promising arts groups and artists. The Hong Kong Arts Development Council is also committed to the implementation of various regular and project-based funding schemes to support small and medium sized arts groups, including the Emerging Artists Development Grant to support and nurture promising and budding arts groups and artists. Meanwhile, we also encourage arts groups and artists not to solely rely on government funding support but aim to attract paid audience and seek other funding recourses and subsidies to develop arts and culture as industry.
The Government has announced the launch of the Signature Performing Arts Programme Scheme (SPAPS) for nurturing representative and large-scale local performing arts productions for long-running performances. Each selected programme under the SPAPS will receive direct subsidy, and a matching subsidy to match with the private sponsorship raised and box income received, with a view to bringing in resources from the community to jointly contribute to the development of local performing arts, and encouraging the selected programmes to seek wider funding sources and audience support. Application details will be announced later and the SPAPS will open for applications in December.
The Government also actively encourages arts groups and organisations to expand their funding sources. The Art Development Matching Grant Scheme and the Springboard Grant of ACDFS under CSTB provides matching grant for donations and sponsorships raised by eligible arts groups/organisations, enhancing their fund raising ability as well as fostering all walks of the community to jointly take part in the development of arts and culture.
(3) Opening in the first quarter of 2025, the Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) is the largest sports infrastructure project ever commissioned in Hong Kong. The KTSP will provide modern and multi-purpose facilities. Among other things, the 50 000-seat Kai Tak Stadium, being equipped with a retractable roof, offering different stage positioning and seating configurations as well as adopting a flexible pitch system design, provides more options for hosting different types of large-scale cultural and entertainment events such as sports competitions, art and cultural performances and concerts. The 10 000-seat indoor sports centre (named Kai Tak Arena) is also equipped with retractable seating system and flexible configuration of the play field, allowing the hosting of various kinds of sports, culture or entertainment events.
The KTSP will provide the venues required for the development of large-scale sports events as well as cultural and arts performance, thereby creating the conditions for further promoting mega event economy. Over the past few years, the operator has proactively reached out to stakeholders from sectors including sports, arts and culture, and has showcased the advantages of KTSP's multi-purposes facilities to over 200 local and international organisations through various channels. The CSTB will continue to work closely with the operator and various government departments to ensure the successful completion and commissioning of the KTSP and unleash the opportunities brought by this world-class hardware, with a view to boosting sports development and injecting impetus into related industries such as recreation, entertainment and tourism (including tourism in arts and culture).
(4) With new land, new communities and the advantage of close connections with the Mainland, the Northern Metropolis will provide new opportunities for the development of cultural facilities. The Government plans to construct a Cultural Complex in San Tin Technopole, including a major performance venue, a major museum, and a major library. In addition, the Government also plans to build dedicated performance venues in New Territories North New Town and Lau Fau Shan. These planned cultural facilities, together with the NTECC currently under construction in Fanling, will bring more brilliant local and international performing arts programmes to the citizens. This will help consolidate Hong Kong's position as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.
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