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The Government is preparing to establish a Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum by converting Kom Tong Hall (KTH) with a budget of $91 million.

A spokesman of the Home Affairs Bureau said the Government had, for a number of years, been considering the provision of a museum facility in Hong Kong to commemorate Dr Sun Yat-sen who studied and nurtured his revolutionary ideas here.

"Subject to funding approval by the Legislative Council, we aim to complete relevant conversion works by the end of 2006 for soft opening of the museum for educational activities to tie in with the 140 anniversary of Dr Sun's birth. The museum is expected to be fully opened to the public in 2007," the spokesman said.

The Government acquired KTH, a representative historical building which was worth permanent preservation, last year for $53 million for converting the building into a Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum.

"As Dr Sun's activities were mainly focused in the Central and Western District, Kom Tong Hall, within the district at 7 Castle Road, Mid-Levels, was considered ideal for the purpose," the spokesman said.

The Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum will include a wide range of facilities including permanent exhibition on the life and revolutionary career of Dr Sun with special reference to the political and socio-economic conditions of Hong Kong in the late 19th century, as well as special thematic exhibitions where a rich variety of educational activities are to be held.

Apart from exhibition galleries, there will be activity room, interactive room, reading room and video room where multi-media programmes and a wide range of Dr Sun's documentaries will be provided.

"Since we have taken over the KTH building, we have been preparing actively for the proposed museum. Curatorial staff have visited museums in Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou and archives in London, from which a substantial number of important artefacts related to Dr Sun and the 1911 Revolution have been identified and negotiated for loan for display. Efforts to identify potential exhibits overseas to enrich the museum collection will continue," the spokesman added.

A collection campaign was held between May and August, 2004, to identify artefacts related to Dr Sun and other revolutionaries. A few hundred items of calligraphies, manuscripts, letters, souvenirs, stamps and banknotes were collected in this short period. The highlights of the artefacts will be put on display in the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum in future for public viewing.

The spokesman said that the Central and Western District Council had agreed future linkage between the new museum and the Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail which linked the various places in the Central and Western District where Dr Sun carried out his activities.

The project also received unanimous support from the Committee on Museums, who visited the building last week. Committee members were particularly concerned about the educational facilities to be provided, accessibility of the future museum as well as linkage of the new facility with the Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail and other sights in the district, and raised constructive ideas to help address the concerns.

Ends/Monday, January 31, 2005

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