On July 21st, 2021, the Summit of “Communication Between Home and Abroad·Mutual Learning among Civilizations--Hong Kong Communication Center to Develop Art and Culture in China and the World” was held in Hong Kong. Those attended and delivered key speeches were Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Zhang Xu, vice minister of culture and tourism, Lu Xinming, deputy director of Central Government liaison Office in Hong Kong, and Ma Fengguo from Hong Kong federation of China Federation of Cultural and Art Circles. More than 600 people attended the conference, including representatives of the Management Center of China National Arts Fund, Home Affairs Bureau of the HKSAR Government, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Arts Development Bureau, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong federation of China Federation of Cultural and Art Circles and other main cultural communities and circles.
The forum was hosted by Hong Kong federation of China Federation of Cultural and Art Circles. Invited host institutes were Home Affairs Bureau of the HKSAR Government and the Promotion and Cultural Department of Liaison Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong. The aim of the forum was to implement the plan of the national “14th five year plan” to support Hong Kong to be “Hong Kong communication center to develop art and culture in China and the world” and to discuss Hong Kong’s advantages under the new situation, so as to promote exchanges and communication between China and the world.
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that Hong Kong was home to various outstanding Chinese and foreign culture and talented people from home and abroad, and plus the wide international connection, it’s a platform to improve the international influence of Chinese culture. The SAR government would work hand in hand with all social sectors to establish favorable policies of the “14th five year plan” and make full advantage of Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems”, so as to build world-level cultural facilities and diverse cultural space in Hong Kong; establish close relationship with foreign famous cultural institutions; promote cultural communication between Hong Kong and the interior land of China; make good use of science and technology and train talents, so as to build Hong Kong as a communication center of culture and arts between China and the world.
The vice minister Zhang Xu said that in the “14th five year plan” the government announced to to build Hong Kong as a communication center of culture and arts between China and the world for the first time. It’s a response to Hong Kong’s urgent need for development and China’s wishes for Hong Kong to be a communication center to develop humanistic thoughts between China and the world, to build a cultural innovative industries communication center and to be a high land of talented people between China and the world. He said that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism supported Hong Kong’s culture and arts development. Measures were already established or were in the way. We hoped that the culture and art circles in Hong Kong would seize opportunities to improve competition advantages and to conquer challenges for new success.
The deputy director Lu Xinning said that to establish a communication center for culture and arts between China and the world in Hong Kong, the SAR government needed to improve it’s capabilities to be able to exchange ideas with international art and culture; to solidify cultural base and improve cultural attraction; to transform and develop Chinese culture in a creative way; to inspire cultural activity; to nature new advantages of culture and scientific innovation and to create new starting points and new growth poles. Ma Fengguo said that China National Arts Fund had been fully opened to Hong Kong and Macao, providing new development opportunities for cultural and art circles in Hong Kong. He would lead Hong Kong federation of China Federation of Cultural and Art Circles to participate in the construction of the communication center of art and culture between China and the world as well as present Hong Kong’s spirit and China’s story to the world.
When Zhang Xu was in Hong Kong, he attended a forum with practitioners in tourism and cultural industries of Hong Kong. He introduced policies to support the recovery of culture and tourism in Hong Kong and listened to suggestions of people in various industries.