HK sees abundant cultural activities in 2004

Hong Kong Art Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, the exhibition of the Buddha's sarira from Xi'an Famen Buddhist Temple, Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum ... the organization of abundant cultural activities has enabled Hong Kong to experience a fruitful year.

"Hong Kong should be the New York of Asia, a vital force should be shown no matter in financial or cultural aspects," said Darwin Chen, chairman of Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Chen said activities held by the council are aimed at promoting art and culture among the general public, allowing art education to enter every family.

Creativity, cooperation and communication together have formed the core contents of cultural development in Hong Kong in the past one year.

Creativity is a word most frequently used by the mass media in Hong Kong throughout the year, showing that Hong Kong people are enthusiastic in bringing about new things.

As the Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum launched in Hong Kong in November, the idea of creativity has further embedded in people's mind.

Participants of the forum believed that creativity should be united with the accumulation of culture and that Hong Kong's culture should never be departed from traditional Chinese culture.

As part of the traditional Chinese culture, more efforts should be put on pushing ahead with the development of this splendid agelong culture, said the participants.

Cooperation and communication were also emphasized in different occasions by people of the cultural circles, who believed it was important to strengthen the ties between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland in cultural development.

They thought that having the same cultural background was the precondition of cooperation, and the working style that formed under different social systems provided references and supplementary for both places.

A World Without Thieves, a film produced together by Hong Kong and Chinese mainland famous film producers, has proved to be a successful example as it has done well in the sale of the tickets.

The idea of making Hong Kong a city of culture has reached a consensus among the society.

Comment on the 15th Hong Kong Book Exhibition, the organizer said, "We hope the book exhibition was not only a business exchange spot for book traders, but also a place which provide people a chance to feel and experience culture and to get close to reading."

"Having more than 100,000 people reading and buying books together at the same time, same place, can help form a positive meaning as well as enhance the cultural atmosphere of the entire city."

Source: Xinhua