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RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
RECREATION, sports and cultural activities play an important role in enhancing the quality of life of the Hong Kong community. The government aims for an environment in which diversity, freedom of expression and artistic creation can thrive.
The key arts and sports bodies underwent significant organisational changes in 1994 to strengthen their roles in promoting such activities. The amalgamation of the Hong Kong Sports Development Board and Hong Kong Sports Institute was successfully completed in April. This will help ensure that resources allocated for the development of sports and the training of the territory's sportsmen will be used cost-effectively. Also in April, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council was established and took over the work of the former Council for the Performing Arts. Its remit has been enlarged to cover the literary and visual arts, in addition to the performing arts. The Hong Kong Arts Development Council Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council in June. With the passage of the Bill, the council will become an independent and statutory body with executive powers.
It was an historic year for Hong Kong athletes who took part in the 15th Commonwealth Games in Canada. It was the last time, before the transfer of sovereignty over the territory, that Hong Kong participated in the games. The year also saw the territory's sportsmen participate for the last time under British sovereignty in the Asian Games, held in Japan.
Other highlights of the year included the completion of the redevelopment of the Hong Kong Stadium. The renovation of the City Hall was also completed.
In the New Territories, a public golf-driving range with 100 practice bays at the Tuen Mun Recreation and Sports Centre was opened to the public towards the end of the year. The government continued to co-ordinate the completion by December 1995 of the territory's first public golf centre on Kau Sai Chau. Work on the Kowloon Walled City Park commenced in June, and two stone plaques inscribed with the name of the Walled City and its South Gate were unearthed.
The Regional Council's computerised bilingual public library system was further enhanced in March with the addition of a computerised on-line public access catalogue in all the council's libraries. The catalogue allows instant access to information on all the book stocks in the libraries. Computerisation in the Urban Council's libraries was also progressing well, with work completed in 19 libraries. Design work for the largest library in the territory, the Hong Kong Central Library in Causeway Bay, was completed during the year.
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