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Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC) Annual Dinner in London on November 3 (London time):
Mr Rammell (Minister of State for the Armed Forces), distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to join you this evening and to be back here in the wonderful city of London.
Thank you Jack So (Chairman of Hong Kong Trade Development Council) for your warm introduction on this wintry evening.
Well, what a year it has been. We've had the global financial crisis, the swine flu outbreak and global warming issues to contend with. Yet, in this climate of uncertainty, hopes have been realised, enterprise rewarded and creativity shown on both our shores.
Here in London, England's hopes of winning an Ashes cricket Test at Lords finally materialised - after 75 years! In Hong Kong, one of our university's former vice chancellors won the Nobel prize for physics and - a Hong Kong businessman's dream came true when he bought Birmingham City Football Club.
The overriding theme of my talk is enterprise and creativity. And where better to start than with the organisers of this marvellous dinner, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC).
Jack and his team at the TDC have been working tremendously hard during the global financial crisis to help keep Hong Kong pointed in the right direction.
This year, while some have kept their heads low to weather the economic storm, the TDC has expanded its downtown exhibition space; provided added incentives for exhibitors to take part in our trade fairs and introduced new events.
Tomorrow the doors will open on the TDC's Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair. In only its second year, the fair will have more than 500 exhibitors from 33 countries and regions taking part.
But my focus this week is on London, and especially on the arts and cultural scene here. It seems that everywhere you look in this great city, there is something to stimulate the mind. Cultural and creative industries have been playing an increasingly important part in our community too, and things are now really beginning to get interesting.
Why now?
First, because projects that have been in the pipeline for some time are starting to move off the drawing board and into reality.
Secondly, because Hong Kong has all the elements for cultural and creative industries to take off. We are a diverse and inclusive society. There is also a new enthusiasm in our community to protect and nurture our cultural heritage and the arts. Our unique history has produced an eclectic cultural blend of East and West and furnished us with the qualities to become a cultural hub in Asia.
Thirdly, the global recession has highlighted the potential dangers of relying on a narrow-based economy. In Hong Kong we can no longer depend so heavily on financial services and the other pillar industries of tourism, trade and logistics, and professional services. We now have the opportunity and the motivation to spread our wings further and put in our best efforts to create more diversity in our economy.
Capturing this opportunity was a major focus of our Chief Executive's Policy Address last month. The Chief Executive highlighted six industries where Hong Kong enjoys a competitive edge and immense potential that can provide added impetus for our city's growth and progress. These are: education services, medical services, innovation and technology, testing and certification services, environmental industry and, last but by no means least, cultural and creative industries.
All six industries will advance our knowledge-based economy, broaden our economic base and promote sustainable growth. As I don't have time to cover each of them in detail and because we are here in one of the world's cultural capitals, let's keep the focus on culture and creativity.
This morning I visited South Bank to seek out some extra inspiration for what is currently our single largest and most ambitious project, the West Kowloon Cultural District, or WKCD. I am very honoured to be the chairman of the WKCD Authority, which was set up last year to develop this mega project.
I was particularly interested to see the Southbank Centre, the largest arts centre in Europe, covering an area equivalent to about eight full-sized football pitches.
Now, imagine the future WKCD - an arts district almost five times the size of the Southbank Centre right near the beating heart of Hong Kong's bustling metropolis and only 48 minutes away from Guangzhou and an even shorter travelling time from Shenzhen. The potential is enormous.
The WKCD is a 40-hectare site along the Kowloon waterfront overlooking Victoria Harbour. It's our very own West End but with a Broadway skyline. World-renowned architects are assisting us in drawing up the master layout plan for the project. And because the WKCD is a project for the people, we are currently consulting the public on their views about the overall plan and aspirations for this venture. Architectural designs for individual facilities would come in only at a later stage.
Our aim is to transform the West Kowloon landscape with 15 arts facilities including a grand theatre, a modern M+ Museum and a concert hall. There will also be 20 hectares of open space and piazzas for people to relax and enjoy the atmosphere.
The first phase of the WKCD is scheduled to open in 2014/15. At this early stage we are placing a lot of emphasis on the two-dimensional layout plan because we want people to think carefully about what West Kowloon should be like, instead of being distracted by 3D architectural designs.
Seven planning principles are guiding the overall project development. The principles are: First, "creativity", because - above all - we want the WKCD to embrace the spirit of innovation. The second principle is "accessibility'" to ensure easy access for everyone. The third is "connectivity", so that the WKCD is connected to its natural surroundings including the harbour as well as to other parts of Hong Kong and the wider region.
Allow me to add a footnote here. We are about to begin work on an Express Rail Link that will connect Hong Kong to China's national high-speed rail network. The Hong Kong terminus will be at West Kowloon, right next to the WKCD. This will help to encourage Mainland audiences, especially those from the increasingly affluent Pearl River Delta, to share our enthusiasm about the WKCD and embrace the district as the region's premier arts hub. In the same way that the West End is a must-see attraction for visitors to London, the WKCD will become a magnet for our tourists from around the world. Last year we received almost 30 million visitors, that's more than even London.
After "connectivity", the fourth development principle is "integration" to ensure that arts and cultural components as well as indoor and outdoor facilities are combined seamlessly. The remaining three principles: "vibrancy", "uniqueness" and "sustainability", speak for themselves.
An upfront endowment of 1.7 billion pounds has already been approved for the project. Our funding model focuses on the long-term financial sustainability of the project. Sufficient recurrent income, largely generated from retail, dining and entertainment, will enable WKCD to operate independently.
Equally important is for us to develop the required cultural software. Not only do we want the facilities to look good, we want to put bums on seats and attract the greatest art performances and exhibitions on earth, as well as encourage local talent to embrace the arts and even take to the stage.
Here we are taking a three-pronged approach, namely, capacity building, audience building, and arts education and manpower training.
Each year the Government either sponsors or promotes more than 4,000 cultural and educational programmes including major events such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival and International Film Festival. Our challenge is to make these programmes more visible and accessible to the general public as well as to overseas audiences.
We have already stepped up promotion of artistic and cultural activities in schools to generate interest among our young people. We also have various training schemes and funding programmes to support those with ambitions for a career in the arts.
We will certainly be looking to tap London's expertise in managing facilities, designing programmes and enticing the best acts around the world to the WKCD as the project develops.
Each year the Government allocates more than 200 million pounds for cultural and arts development. That is equivalent to about 1% of our total annual spending. Cultural and creative industries employ about 170,000 people with total value-added of some 5.7 billion pounds. They currently contribute about 4% of our GDP. I am confident we have the potential to increase this to be on a par with the UK or the US where creative industries currently contribute 7 to 8% of GDP.
Hong Kong's artistic credentials are already well established. We are proud of our deep cultural roots. Only last month, UNESCO included Cantonese opera on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Our London Economic and Trade Office does a great job in promoting Hong Kong cultural activities here. This has helped our artists gain exposure on the world stage and make their names overseas. Many of our artists and designers have learned their trade in Britain through primary, secondary and university education or via a more traditional route - the school of hard knocks.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a film gala event at the Curzon Mayfair Cinema. The feature film was called "Claustrophobia", directed by Ivy Ho and featuring Ekin Cheng and Karena Lam. I thoroughly recommend it.
The showing marked the launch of the tour of the "Visible Secrets - Hong Kong's Women Filmmakers" series. The tour will take in cities in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and highlight the creativity of our film industry.
Ladies and gentlemen, last month we marked the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The past six decades, and especially the last 30 years, have seen remarkable growth and change in China as well as in Hong Kong.
Since our reunification in 1997, Hong Kong has inevitably become more closely intertwined with our nation on all levels, business, culture and finance. We also have a joint mission to protect the environment and ensure sustainable development.
At the same time, Hong Kong has lost none of its international flair or "can do" spirit. As China continues opening up to the rest of the world, Hong Kong will have an even more prominent role to play in the process as a global business and financial centre.
Above all we look forward to seeing exactly how creative we can become in grasping the opportunities ahead of us.
Thank you all for your continued support of Hong Kong and interest in our city. I hope we will see you in Hong Kong in the very near future.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:14
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