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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (March 2):
Question:
In this year's policy address, the Chief Executive announced that "[t]he month-long free museum admission under the 'Appreciate Hong Kong' Campaign has been well received by the public. The Government has decided to make free admission to the permanent exhibitions of designated LCSD (Leisure and Cultural Services Department) museums a standing practice". However, all of the interactive devices and exhibits at the Hong Kong Science Museum were damaged during the aforesaid free admission period. LCSD therefore plans to offer free admission only to full-time students but to charge other visitors a certain amount of fees for admission to the permanent exhibitions of the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum in future. Some members of the public consider this practice is tantamount to depriving the financially less capable people of their right to enjoy museum services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the damage caused to the interactive devices and exhibits at the Hong Kong Science Museum during the free admission period, and whether the causes of the damage included normal wear and tear of such facilities being accelerated by a significant increase in the number of users; if so, whether it has assessed if the damage simply reflects the popularity of the interactive devices and exhibits, which have achieved the effect of enabling users to gain the relevant knowledge through interactive experiences;
(2) whether LCSD will consider enhancing the maintenance and repair of the various kinds of interactive devices and exhibits at its museums, so as to increase the sturdiness of those facilities to cater for the arrangement of offering free admission to the relevant museums, instead of excluding the financially less capable people; if LCSD will not, of the reasons for that; and
(3) as both the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum are entrusted with the mission of promoting scientific knowledge among the general public, whether LCSD will abolish its plan of not offering free admission to the permanent exhibitions of those museums to people other than full-time students; if not, whether LCSD will consider maintaining the current practice of offering free admission to those museums every Wednesday; if not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
To further promote culture and art as well as knowledge and experience in history and science, and to encourage more visits to the museums for building a wider audience base, the Chief Executive has announced in his Policy Address this year the decision of making free admission to the permanent exhibitions of designated museums of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) a standing practice. Under the new measure, the permanent exhibitions of five fee-charging LCSD museums (i.e. the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence and Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum) will open free to the public, whereas the permanent exhibitions of the Hong Kong Science Museum (HKScM) and Hong Kong Space Museum (HKSpM) will offer free admission to full-time students. My reply to the Hon Frederick Fung's question is as follows:
(1) The month-long free admission offered by all fee-charging LCSD museums under the "Appreciate Hong Kong" Campaign in January 2016 was well received by the public. The HKScM recorded in January an attendance of over 126,000 visitors which showed an increase of more than one-fold as compared to the attendance during the same period last year (i.e. the normal fee-charging period), attaining the largest increase of attendance among all fee-charging museums. However, the damage rate of interactive exhibits in the HKScM also doubled at the same time. In fact, according to the operating experience of local and overseas museums, interactive exhibits will become more vulnerable to damage under frequent use. Therefore, the damage rate will generally increase following a higher attendance. Given the larger number of interactive exhibits in the HKScM and the HKSpM, the Government had to carefully take into account their limits in terms of capacity and number of visitors when planning to make free admission to the permanent exhibitions of these museums a standing practice, with a view to keeping exhibits in good condition and ensuring pleasant museum visits in a safe and comfortable environment.
(2) and (3) Taking into consideration the capacity of the HKScM and the HKSpM and the policy objective of enhancing the promotion of science and astronomical knowledge among students, the LCSD decided to offer free admission to the permanent exhibitions of both museums to full-time students. The current concessionary half-fare admission will continue to be offered to every senior citizen aged 60 or above as well as person with disabilities (PWD) and one accompanying minder of each PWD. The arrangement for free museum admission on Wednesdays will also be maintained, i.e. everyone can visit the permanent exhibitions of museums on Wednesdays free of charge. Expecting a big rise in museum attendance upon implementation of free admission to the permanent exhibitions for full-time students, the LCSD will deploy resources in enhancing the maintenance and renewal of exhibits and advise visitors on the proper use of interactive exhibits, in a bid to provide quality museum services for the public.
Ends/Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Issued at HKT 12:06
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