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lagging behind in the provision of a responsive commemorative Museum of Coastal Defence at Lei Yue Mun which is yet to be implemented. In this respect, Hong Kong is also not comparable to the completed Memorial Museum at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, and the Sam Tosa Museum in Singapore. The site earmarked for the Museum of History as located at Tsim Sha Tsui East has been left empty for a long time and is a waste of land resources. I think the complacent conclusion in the report is therefore really a laughing-stock. From this wrong conclusion, we are also robbed of the opportunity to reconstruct or to redevelop the City Hall. For the Central Library, long overdue, and once intended to be part of the redeveloped City Hall, will therefore have to hunt for another site elsewhere... at a corner of the Victoria Park where we have to face criticisms of intruding into our limited green open space and also being far from Central. Nothing can demonstrate better, the government's neglect on the visual and literary arts so far, than these few examples! Regarding whether the Council had previously shared the views of the said ‘conclusion' in the report, I personally have never heard of it. It needs clarification from the concerned authority if the Council is said to have autonomy in terms of its cultural policy, construction of cultural venues and the use of resources.
The second point of comment is that the Report appears to fall short of some professional touch and also not being sufficiently wide-ranging. In praising the Urban Council for contribution to the visual arts, it only mentions the exhibitions and activities in the Museum of Art. But the Museum of History's contributions appear to have been neglected. Even though under the Urban Council Ordinance, the appreciation of historical relics and provision of these activities come under the ambit of the Urban Council as well. On art education and general exhibitions, ‘visual arts' in the Report seemed to have been only narrowly defined as contemporary painting and sculpture. The wider definition of 'visual arts' embracing architecture, sculpture, painting and the applied arts... as found in most international publications on the subject has not been adopted.
My third point of comment is that there seems no guidance at all in the Report as to what the future Arts Council would do when some possible overlapping of responsibilities and operational conflicts between the 2 Municipal Councils arise and whether the 2 Councils' retained autonomy will be infringed if the future Arts Council exercises its 'co-ordinating' role?
Now, I would like to talk about some suggestions.
Firstly, in response to my first criticism, the Government should immediately revoke the proposal in the Report that in the 1990s no more cultural venues be constructed within the urban area, as it was based on a wrong conclusion. All future cultural facilities should be appropriately decided by the Urban Council. Regarding the Government's commitment in constructing major cultural venues for the Urban Council as stipulated in the MAA with the Council, there should be a pragmatic timetable of implementing these obligations and eliminate all ambiguous 'grey areas' which would delay capital works programmes.
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Secondly, The Government should hasten the establishment of the Arts Council and accommodate, where practicable, the views of the public, and to devise some guiding policies of professional level for the various forms of art, particularly to strengthen the visual and the literary arts so that an overall balance in these objectives could be achieved. On the visual arts policy, since I have already expressed my views in detail during the Annual Convention Debate in January, I am not going to repeat it again.
Thirdly, the Government's Public Records Office which is now having difficulty with accommodation should be incorporated into the future Central Library to form the Central Public Records Office. This is to enhance the central library facilities to facilitate research work by the public. This is also something done in many other major cities in the world. The present Public Records Office is at the Beaconfield House in Central. It is not suitable to move it to a factory building in Tuen Mun.
Fourthly, the Music Office. If it is to be abolished, it should rather be taken over by the Urban Council. Since the average usage rate of UC district civic centres is not very high, we should be able to absorb all these district offices from the MO. This will enhance convenience to citizens and students. Other financial and administrative arrangements can be worked out later.
Sir, with these words, I second the motion.
CHAIRMAN (in English):--I shall now call on those Members who have indicated their wishes to speak on the motion one by one according to the list I have in hand. The next one to speak would be the Vice-Chairman, Mr. Lo King-man.
MR. LO KING-MAN (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I support the motion by calling upon my colleagues in the Urban Council to show a positive response by stating our commitment to strengthening the Urban Council's present role in the arts to complement and support that of the Central Government. Since the two previous speakers have addressed their remarks significantly on the Urban Council, I will direct my comments mainly on the Policy Review Report itself. The arts represent the most significant manifestation of culture of a land and its people. They reflect the vitality, creativity and the spiritual and intellectual quality of the society. Any government policy on the arts must state that Government's belief in the value of the arts in society and must demonstrate its commitment to uphold that value by devoting appropriate resources for its development in accordance with a well-planned and positive course of action which it will implement. I hope at the end of the consultation period the government will be able to revise their outlook in the present review by strengthening this positive attitude. I believe that the Central Government's role should cover the arts other than performing arts and therefore include the visual and literary arts with the possibility of other mixed forms of arts and their development. Whether this should come under one single Arts Council or...
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lagging behind in the provision of a responsive commemorative Museum of Coastal Defence at Lei Yue Mun which is yet to be implemented. In this respect, Hong Kong is also not comparable to the completed Memorial. Museum at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, and the Sam Tosa Museum in Singapore. The site earmarked for the Museum of History as located at Tsim Sha Tsui East has been left empty for a long time and is a waste of land resources. I think the complacent conclusion in the report is therefore really a laughing-stock. From this wrong conclusion, we are also robbed of the opportunity to reconstruct or to redevelop the City Hall. For the Central Library, long overdue, and once intended to be part of the redeveloped City Hall, will therefore have to hunt for another site elsewhere . . . at a corner of the Victoria Park where we have to face criticisms of intruding into our limited green open space and also being for from Central. Nothing can demonstrate better, the government's neglect on the visual and literary arts so far, than these few examples! Regarding whether the Council had previously shared the views of the said ‘conclusion' in the report, I personally have never heard of it. It needs clarification from the concerned authority if the Council is said to have autonomy in terms of its cultural policy, construction of cultural venues and the use of resources.
The second point of comment is that the Report appears to fall short of some professional touch and also not being sufficiently wide ranging. In praising the Urban Council for contribution to the visual arts, it only mentions the exhibitions and activities in the Museum of Art. But the Museum of History's contributions appears to have been neglected. Even though under the Urban Council Ordinance, the appreciation of historial relics and provision of these activities come under the ambit of the Urban Council as well. On art education and general exhibitions, ‘visual arts' in the Report seemed to have been only narrowly defined as contemporary painting and sculpture. The wider definition of 'visual arts' embracing architecture, sculpture, painting and the applied arts ... as found in most international publications on the subject has not been adopted.
My third point of comment is that there seems no guidance at all in the Report as what would the future Arts Council do when some possible overlapping of responsibilities and operational conflicts between the 2 Municipal Council's arise and whether the 2 Council's retained autonomy will be infringed if the future Arts Council exercises its 'co-ordinating' role?
Now, I would like to talk about some suggestions.
Firstly, in response to my first criticism, the Government should immediately revoke the proposal in the Report that in the 1990s no more cultural venues be constructed within the urban area, as it was based on a wrong conclusion. All future cultural facilities should be appropriately decided by the Urban Council. Regarding the Government's commitment in constructing major cultural venues for the Urban Council as stipulated in the MAA with the Council, there should be a pragmatic time-table of implementing these obligations and eliminate all ambiguous 'grey areas' which would delay captial works programmes.
Page 19 of 132
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Secondly, The Government should hasten the establishment of the Arts Council and accommodate, where practicable, the views of the public, and to devise some guiding policies of professional level for the various forms of art, particularly to strengthen the visual and the literary arts so that an overall balance in these objectives could be achieved. On the visual arts policy, since I have already expressed my views in detail during the Annual Conventional Debate in January, I am not going to repeat it again.
Thirdly, the Government's Public Records Office which is now having the difficulty of accommodation should be incorporated into the future Central Library to form the Central Public Records Office. This is to enhance the central library facilities to facilitate research work by the public. This is also something done in many other major cities in the world. The present Public Records Office is at the Beaconfield House in Central. It is not suitable to move it to a factory building in Tuen Mun.
Fourthly, the Music Office. If it is to be abolished, it should rather be taken over by the Urban Council. Since the average usage rate of UC district civic centres is not very high, we should be able to absorb all these district offices from the MO. This will enhance convenience to citizens and students. Other financial and administrative arrangements can be worked out later.
Sir, with these words, I second the motion.
CHAIRMAN (in English):--I shall now call on those Members who have indicated their wishes to speak on the motion one by one according to the list I have in hand. The next one to speak would be the Vice-Chairman, Mr. Lo King-man.
MR. LO KING-MAN (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I support the motion by calling upon my colleagues in the Urban Council to show positive response by stating our commitment to strengthening the Urban Council's present role in the arts to compliment and support that of the Central Government. Since the two previous speakers have addressed their remarks significantly on the Urban Council, I will direct my comments mainly on the Policy Review Report itself. The arts represent the most significant manifestation of culture of a land and its people. They reflect the vitality, creativity and the spiritual and intellectual quality of the society. Any government policy on the arts must state that Government's belief in the value of the arts society and must demonstrate its commitment to uphold that value by devoting appropriate resources for its development in accordance with a well planned and positive course of action which it will implement. I hope at the end of the consultation period the government will be able to revise their outlook in the present review by strengthening this positive attitude. I believe that the Central Government's role should cover the arts other than performing arts and therefore include the visual and literary arts with the possibility of other mixed forms of arts and the development. Whether this should come under one single Arts Council on the
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