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Following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, after the second meeting of the Consultation Panel of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority today (July 20):
Reporter: What¡¦s the reasoning behind the selection of the three consultants, and secondly, given Lord Foster¡¦s controversies before, with these designs about the exact project, are you concerned these controversies will repeat itself and continue to be a problem.
Chief Secretary for Administration: This project has attracted attention worldwide. When we sent out for expressions of interest, we received more than 40 submissions and it was a list of who¡¦s who in the world of architecture. I believe this is a unique opportunity for Hong Kong to put ourselves on the map as far as arts and culture is concerned. But this is not just what we are aiming for. We are aiming for an arts and cultural district that is part of Hong Kong, part of our community. A place where you can go for a leisure stroll, for a cup of coffee, to go after work with friends, to live and to work. This is the goal we have for the arts and cultural district.
The selection process was very vigorous. We have a panel that consisted of both board members as well as outsiders, with professional as well as other qualifications. It was a long process and was difficult because many of the submissions were world-class. But we ended up with three which we think provide a good mix as well as good choices for the community. As far as Norman Foster is concerned, I am not worried that he will be burdened by what he has done in the past. Actually he knows that site quite well because he has done work on it already. So I think it is one of his strengths that he knows that site well. That gave him a knowledge of the site that impressed the panel.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, July 20, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:19
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