TNAG-2864-FCO40-4118-International-Covenant-on-Economic--Social-and-Cultural-Righ-1993 — Page 26

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the Education Ordinance relating to the power of the Director of Education to order attendance at primary or secondary school cover children undergoing both primary and junior-secondary education.

15.

Education at the primary and junor-secondary levels in the public sector is free. At the senior-secondary level, it is heavily subsidised and only a small standard fee is charged. A free remission scheme is in operation in the public sector to ensure that no pupil allocated a place in this sector is debarred from taking it up because of lack of financial resources.

ARTICLE 15: RIGHT TO TAKE PART IN CULTURAL LIFE AND TO ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND THE PROTECTION OF THE

INTERESTS OF AUTHORS

A Right to Take Part in Cultural Life (paragraph 1(a))

16.

It is general policy to encourage the free participation of people in all aspects of cultural life, including creation and performance, subject only to measures intended to prevent the dissemination of material deemed likely to corrupt the morals of society. The copyright of works of creative artists is protected.

17. Over the last decade, the Government and the municipal councils have played a more active role in the arts, with the aims of promoting artistic excellence and making the arts more accessible to the general population.

18. In order to make the arts more accessible, numerous measures have been taken by both the Government and the municipal councils. For its part, the Government has concentrated on the development aspects of cultural promotion. To this end, it:

(a)

(b)

(c)

19.

established the Council for the Performing Arts in 1982 to advise on the promotion of the arts and the disbursement of funds for this purpose;

established the Academy for Performing Arts in 1984 to provide professional training to diploma and higher diploma level in both Western and Chinese forms of dance, drama and music. The Academy will become a degree-awarding body in the near future;

takes measures to record and conserve important aspects of Hong Kong's cultural heritage, including both archaeologial sites and the built environment, through the work of the Antiquities and Monuments Office.

Funded from property taxes and central taxation, the