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The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, today (January 18) attended a forum on cultural co-operation among the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao organised by the Ministry of Culture in Beijing to enhance cultural co-operation among the three places through discussions and exchanges.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the forum, the first of its kind organised by the Ministry, this morning, Mr Tsang said, "Hong Kong is adept at deriving from and integrating with foreign culture in developing its own cultural characteristics. We anticipate that Hong Kong, through enhanced cultural exchanges and co-operation with the Mainland, will benefit from the prosperous development of China and play a unique role in making its own contribution."
The theme of the forum is "arts festivals and city dynamics". In his speech, Mr Tsang said in addition to hardware, the HKSAR Government also promoted the development of cultural software in collaboration with the community. Among them, organising various arts festivals is an effective means to support the growth of culture and the performing arts, make reference to international experiences, cultivate audiences and develop cultural brands.
He said that a large number of arts festivals with different themes were offered by the government and community groups throughout the year in Hong Kong, providing diverse cultural programmes to seven million Hong Kong people and over 30 million visitors each year.
"These arts festivals have become an important component of Hong Kong as a dynamic city, providing not only quality cultural programmes to the public but also a platform of performances for local and budding artists as well as opportunities for them to exchange with world-class masters. The HKSAR Government will allocate more resources to support arts festival activities," Mr Tsang said.
The cultural co-operation forum aims to enhance exchanges among the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao and build a platform for cultural and arts co-operation. The Vice Minister of Culture, Madam Zhao Shaohua, officiated at the forum's opening ceremony.
Mr Tsang will return to Hong Kong tomorrow.
Ends/Monday, January 18, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:29
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