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The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, signed the Agreement on Cultural Exchange and Co-operation between Zhejiang Province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region today (June 26) together with Zhejiang Province.
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Mr Tsang and the Director-General of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Mr Yang Jianxin, representing their respective administrations, signed the agreement to promote cultural exchange and co-operation between the two places. The Deputy Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Mr Li Qiang, and the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Zhejiang Province, Mr Tang Lilu, also attended the ceremony. They discussed the direction and plans of future co-operation during a meeting before the signing ceremony.
Mr Tsang said, "Hong Kong and Zhejiang Province all along have had close collaboration in cultural exchange. Groups in various art forms often perform in cultural exchange tours. There is also close co-operation between museums and libraries of the two places. The agreement signed today will serve as a platform for exchange between arts sectors in the two places, further promoting exchange and co-operation in the areas of cultural management and nurturing of talents, as well as organisation of large-scale cultural events."
Under the agreement, both sides will establish a communication mechanism for the discussion and formulation of implementation plans to further strengthen cultural co-operation and exchange. In addition to encouraging and promoting arts administration units, arts and cultural organisations and artists of the two places to co-operate in different fields, both sides will also proactively encourage arts and cultural research institutes to establish co-operation mechanisms for academic research, teaching personnel exchange and nurturing of talents.
The agreement also encourages cultural exchange and co-operation between young people in the two places to jointly promote Chinese culture, as well as between cultural organisations that can work together to invite overseas arts groups and cultural organisations to hold roving performances and exhibitions in both places. Moreover, the two sides will actively promote cultural exchange and co-operation between cultural organisations of the two places such as cultural troupes, art galleries, museums, libraries and community arts centres to enrich the cultural life of their people.
The Hong Kong Museum of Art is holding the "Imperishable Affection: The Art of Feng Zikai" exhibition, co-organised by the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, which features works selected from Feng's "Paintings on the Preservation of Life" series collected by the Zhejiang Provincial Museum.
Ends/Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:59
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