Page 429 of 606
PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
417
Today I would like to take this opportunity to talk about a macroscopic issue.
After the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the need for formulating a long-term and more comprehensive cultural policy for HKSAR has again become quite a hot issue among the local residents. As a matter of fact, much discussion had already been made in early nineties before Hong Kong was reunified with China. Besides, organizations relating to and promoting the cultural development of Hong Kong had made many contributions too. For example, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council issued the "Five-Year Strategic Plan" and the “A Policy on Arts Education" in 1995 and 1996 respectively. The Council also successively published the "Five-Year Plan of the Libraries Select Committee”, the “Five-Year Plan of the Urban Council's Entertainment Select Committee”, the "Five-Year Plan of the Provisional Urban Council's Museums Select Committee" and the "Five-Year Plan of the Urban Council's Cultural Select Committee” while the Regional Council issued the "Regional Council Arts Development Plan". This series of plans are related to the building and development of the culture of Hong Kong. They are rich in content and wide in coverage. However, it is not difficult for us to find that there is certain limitation in these plans. Such limitation originates mainly from our traditional way of thinking inherited from Britain or the West that culture is only confined to “arts”. For example, under the British rule, the Hong Kong Government specially set up the Hong Kong Arts Development Council to place key emphasis on the development of arts in Hong Kong. However, the emphasis on arts development was, in reality, not comprehensive, as effort had been devoted to performing arts only. Little importance was attached to other art forms such as literary arts, visual arts, arts criticism and arts education. The above-mentioned documents, which will have significant impact on the cultural development of Hong Kong, contain nothing to get rid of such limitation. Continued limitation in such area will be extremely detrimental to the overall cultural development of Hong Kong in the future.
In the British or Western traditional way of thinking, “arts" is antithetic to "science". This tradition has been clearly demonstrated in Hong Kong's secondary school education. As we all know, it is mandatory for secondary school students to opt for different streams in higher forms, which means students have to select either arts or science subjects. This common practice has extended all the way to university level which resulted in the complete separation of arts and science, hence creating an attitude that it is normal for arts students to know nothing about science and vice versa. Within the domain of literary arts, this phenomenon is reinforced, thus imposing many man-made limits on their development. The situation of arts and science confronting each other has restricted cultural development to the area of arts only. Furthermore, personnel and officials engaging in cultural activities regard science as merely common knowledge instead of treating and developing
Done 129 of 606
Page 429 of 606
Page 429 of 606
Page 429 of 606
PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
417
Today I would like to take this opportunity to talk about a macroscopic i:ssue.
་་
After the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the need for formulating a long-term and more comprehensive cultural policy for HKSAR has again become quite a hot issue among the local residents. As a matter of fact, much discussion had already been made in early nineties before Hong Kong was reunified with China. Besides, organizations relating to and promoting the cultural development of Hong Kong had made many contributions too. For example, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council issued the "Five-Year Strategic Plan" and the “A Policy on Arts Education" in 1995 and 1996 respectively. The Council also successively published the "Five-Year Plan of the Libraries Select Committee”, the “Five- Year Plan of the Urban Council's Entertainment Select Committee”, the "Five-Year Plan of the Provisional Urban Council's Museums Select Committee" and the Five-Year Plan of the Urban Council's Cultural Select Committee” while the Regional Council issued the "Regional Council Arts Development Plan". This series of plans are related to the building and development of the culture of Hong Kong. They are rich in content and wide in coverage. However, it is not difficult for us to find that there is certain limitation in these plans. Such limitation originates mainly from our traditional way of thinking inherited from Britain or the West that culture is only confined to “arts”. For example, under the British rule, the Hong Kong Government specially set up the Hong Kong Arts Development Council to place key emphasis on the development of arts in Hong Kong. However, the emphasis on arts development was, in reality, not comprehensive, as effort had been devoted to performing arts only. Little importance was attached to other art forms such as literary arts, visual arts, arts criticism and arts education. The above-mentioned documents, which will have significant impact on the cultural development of Hong Kong, contain nothing to get rid of such limitation. Continued limitation in such area will be extremely detrimental to the overall cultural development of Hong Kong in the future.
In the British or Western traditional way of thinking, “arts" is antithetic to "science". This tradition has been clearly demonstrated in Hong Kong's secondary school education. As we all know, it is mandatory for secondary school students to opt for different streams in higher forms, which means students have to select either arts or science subjects. This common practice has extended all the way to university level which resulted in the complete separation of arts and science, hence creating an attitude that it is normal for arts students to know nothing about science and vice versa. Within the domain of literary arts, this phenomenon is reinforced, thus imposing many man-made limits on their development. The situation of arts and science confronting each other has restricted cultural development to the area of arts only. Furthermore, personnel and officials engaging in cultural activities regard science as merely common knowledge instead of treating and developing
Done 129 of 606
Page 429 of 606
Page 429 of 606
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