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The Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr Patrick Ho, today (June 16) received a report from the Committee on Performing Arts proposing changes to the existing funding mechanism for performing arts groups, the provision of venue support and programme presentation by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
"We wish to express our sincere gratitude to members of the committee for their efforts and hard work in conducting a public consultation and putting together a recommendation report in the last 18 months," Dr Ho said.
"The recommendations were compiled on the basis of public views received during a public consultation exercise conducted from November 2005 to January 2006.
"Taken together, these recommendations seek to enhance community involvement and partnership in the provision of performing arts services, which should be highly conducive to increasing the vibrancy, diversity and plurality of the arts and cultural scene in Hong Kong. The Government accepts in principle all the recommendations in the committee's report," Dr Ho said.
He said that the Home Affairs Bureau would be studying the recommendations in detail, adding that he would brief the Panel on Home Affairs of the Legislative Council on June 27 on the Administration's response to the recommendations.
The Committee on Performing Arts was established in November 2004 to advise the Secretary for Home Affairs on the provision of performing arts services. The committee is tasked with following up on the policy recommendations related to performing arts of the Culture and Heritage Commission. *Note
The committee's report is available on the Home Affairs Bureau website http://www.hab.gov.hk/. The 10 key recommendations of the report are in the Annex.
* The Committee on Museums and Committee on Libraries were established at the same time to follow up the other policy recommendations of the Culture and Heritage Commission.
Ends/Friday, June 16, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:49
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