22-12-21

There is a story that the tears of a businessman could become pearls, bank notes and other jewels. He kept on crying as his greed grew. Finally, his tears became dry and he was still weeping tearlessly. He turned blind.

People connect. We want to connect the world. My best art classmate is actually in Mexico. Cultural exchange is sharing and swapping traditions, thoughts and artistic expressions with someone coming from a different background.

Hong Kong is an international city in Asia and offers a complete list of all exotic states of matter. We are a melting pot of races and their ideas. My friends are from Europe, Middle East, Africa, India, Australia, Canada, America and Asia. The value of cultural ideas in Hong Kong lie in the using and sharing of them. They are never refrigerated. The United Kingdom had held Hong Kong as a colony since 1842, when it took over the area during the First Opium War. The return of sovereignty over the territory of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China took place on 1^st July 1997. Hong Kong has long been the great city in Asia that truly blends the profound aspects of eastern and western cultures. Here, Confucius and Plato, Romeo and Juliet and Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢), and Für Elise against Butterfly Lovers(梁祝協奏曲) all happily co-exist. Some apprehend that what will happen in the future is Chinese culture, being like an enormous oak tree, standing and overshadowing the Hong Kong cottage. I am a ‘the glass is half full’ optimist. China will be more and more open. She, at the moment, is an economic superpower. In order to be also a ‘cultural superpower’, China realizes she must endeavour to cause her cultures, arts, entertainments, thoughts and ways of living to gain respectable worldwide appeal and significant international popularity over the world. The challenge is Augean.

In 2021, Chinese Central Government’s National 14^th Five-Year Plan stipulates that the country will ‘support Hong Kong to develop herself into a hub for Chinese and international arts and culture exchange’. The document did not go on to explain this point. Perhaps, ‘brevity is the soul of wit’. The Plan left the government and people in Hong Kong with pieces to guess, pick up, de-construct and re-construct as to how to accomplish such a national mission. It is the style of the Central Government to be fundamental in saying things in one sentence and the others will elaborate such fundamentals into a whole book.

In Hong Kong, the official of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government Lu Xinning(盧新寧) described the above national cultural mission of Hong Kong by 3 supplemental points:

1. that in order not to fall behind, Hong Kong shall domestically create and export more good-quality local art and creative works manifesting the competitive charm of the city;
2. that in order to affect the world, Hong Kong shall perpetuate the task of telling in her own creative modern ways the beautiful Chinese cultures and stories to Asia and the West; and
3. that in order to accomplish a creative society, the government, commercial sectors and people of Hong Kong shall work closely together to develop a bigger arts and cultural market both within China especially the Greater Bay Area and outside the country. We need more creative industries in Hong Kong.

The renowned art researcher in Hong Kong Helen So commented that despite the National Plan, the local administration’s vision of the city being a cultural hub remains confined to physical events and activities. The accomplishments cited often refer to government-supported museum exhibitions, performing art tours and art festivals etc. She said, “Hong Kong would benefit from aligning its strategy with the national vision and expanding its ambitions to encompass the digital and commercial spheres. Without a bold vision, a clear strategy and active leadership, Hong Kong’s status as a cultural hub is empty, remaining a buzzword rather than a concrete goal.” Miss So concluded that Hong Kong must move with the times and start turning from the ‘events-based’ to ‘industry-based’ thinking and strategy. At the moment, most art activities are funded by Government and they are not ‘high commercial value contents’. The art groups are often charitable organisations.

Among the cultural thoughts which have been handed down from generation to generation, love and peace occupy the most dominating position. Chinese cultural traditions also embrace love, peace and pursue harmony. A person without the knowledge and cultivation of culture is like a flower without leaves. The side benefit of making Hong Kong a hub for cultural exchange may be that the people in Hong Kong, often criticized as materialistic and coarse, can transform, not determined by status in society or by wealth, to possess the better qualities of a cultured individual such as reflection of the mind and soul upon themselves, other people and the world. As it can be seen from the recent social commotion in 2019, youngsters in Hong Kong are not able to respect and put themselves in someone else’s fear and distress.

Economically, opportunities created by arts and culture have taken on greater importance as economies, transiting from the traditional industrial model and work-based physical labour, to a new model in which creativity will turn into firstly, revenue-generating productivity and secondly, technological growth of the city. The success of international art fairs and auctions in Hong Kong is a very vivid example. The National Plan will hopefully drive Hong Kong this time to seriously export her art contents and develop her creative economy.

I think the future for Hong Kong is simple: if we want Hong Kong to prosper, we will need culture to water the city. If we are to preserve Hong Kong’s uniqueness, we must continue to preserve and create our own special cultures and styles to maintain Hong Kong’s sustainable identity. If we are disappointed to see our children not to emerge as a better person despite our expensive school education system, we must promote arts and culture to offer a promising cornucopia of delightful panacea for their spiritual ills!

Complacency and inertia are the 2 forces which are pulling Hong Kong down.

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