HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ISI
managed by the Council. This will be against the principle of artistic freedom all along upheld by the Council.
Mr. Chairman, the amendment moved by the Democratic Party supplements the inadequacy of the original motion. In the past six months or so, this Council did not have the courage to safeguard artistic freedom when approving applications for use of venues. I speak today to call on Members to support the amendment motion by Mr. Lai Hok-lim. At the same time we seek to strengthen promotion and popularisation of visual art, we must insist on the guiding principle of safeguarding artistic freedom. Without this guiding principle, all talk on popularisation or strengthening promotion is nothing but a fragmented approach. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Jennifer Chow Kit-bing (in Cantonese):—Many colleagues have spoken on the amendment motion and two examples have been quoted to illustrate the assumption that artistic freedom has been suppressed.
These two examples are a film festival and the Pillar of National Shame. In fact, there were a number of cases in the past that the topic was hotly debated at the Council's meetings. The above examples are just two of the cases. The problem lies in how the Council devise the criteria for vetting and approval of applications for use of venues. Different Members may have different interpretations or approaches and different people may have different standards. As a result, there has been a lot of misunderstandings. I don't think we have guidelines on the approval of use of venues for the reference of Members. Similar cases had not happened before so that when cases came up one after the other, a focal point was created. I think we need to address the problem positively, or else more questions and misunderstandings will arise. I hope we can devise a set of guidelines on vetting venue applications.
I am in support of the original motion because I think we need to increase more resources for the promotion of visual art at a district level. It will help popularisation of visual art. We can see that young children in foreign countries join interest classes on visual art at a very tender age. People there see such classes as major extra-curriculum activities. I think if we can follow this trend, it will help the promotion and popularisation of visual art at a district level.
I have different views on the amendment motion. I think art should not be politicised. The public should be trusted to judge on work of art. We should not impose our ideas. Therefore, I object to the amendment motion and I do not think that the assumption in it is necessary. We support the original motion.
MR. STANLEY NG Wing-Fai (in Cantonese):—Today, we discuss the original motion by Mr. Kwok Bit-chun that the Council should enhance the promotion of popularisation of visual arts and actively consider subsidising
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