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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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Lee's vision for cultural hub to be revealed
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is expected to announce during his maiden Policy Address on Wednesday his plan to build four new museums across the city, sources said.
It is understood that the government plans to erect the Center for Promotion of Chinese History and Culture at Kowloon Park, the Heritage and Conservation Resource Center in Tin Shui Wai, the Museum of Art and Culture in the Northern Metropolis, and the Transport Museum in the Central Waters.
Speaking at a symposium on art and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world last month, Lee said Hong Kong should fully explore the potential of the cultural industry to boost development.
He said local artists will have a better working environment once facilities such as the East Kowloon Cultural Center are completed.
Sources said that the government hopes to increase the number of seats at the city's major performance venues by 40 percent.
Separately, groups have called on the government to announce social welfare policies during the address.
Speaking to the press yesterday, Chua Hoi-wai, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, called on the government to use the 2,700 units at a quarantine camp in Kai Tak as transitional housing for citizens living in subdivided flats awaiting allocation to public housing units.
He called on the government to open an additional 30,000 transitional housing units and to convert other Covid isolation facilities in urban areas.
"We really need more transitional housing units, especially in the city center," he said.
Speaking while the Society for Community Organization petitioned outside the government headquarters, SoCO deputy director Sze Lai-shan urged the government to shorten waiting times for public housing allocation and improve public healthcare services.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute has found that 47 percent of the 4,736 respondents who participated in a poll on expectations regarding the upcoming policy address thought the address was "very important," while a quarter thought it was "unimportant" and "somewhat unimportant."
In terms of top priorities, 55 percent of respondents said the government should prioritize the city's housing crisis, while 56 percent believed that public health should be a priority.
Political commentator Derek Yuen Mi-chang said as per his understanding, the policy address will deal with the housing shortage, but cautioned that it cannot be solved within a single administrative term.
Speaking at a symposium on art and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world last month, Lee said Hong Kong should fully explore the potential of the cultural industry to boost development.
He said local artists will have a better working environment once facilities such as the East Kowloon Cultural Center are completed.
Sources said that the government hopes to increase the number of seats at the city's major performance venues by 40 percent.
Separately, groups have called on the government to announce social welfare policies during the address.
Speaking to the press yesterday, Chua Hoi-wai, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, called on the government to use the 2,700 units at a quarantine camp in Kai Tak as transitional housing for citizens living in subdivided flats awaiting allocation to public housing units.
He called on the government to open an additional 30,000 transitional housing units and to convert other Covid isolation facilities in urban areas.
"We really need more transitional housing units, especially in the city center," he said.
Speaking while the Society for Community Organization petitioned outside the government headquarters, SoCO deputy director Sze Lai-shan urged the government to shorten waiting times for public housing allocation and improve public healthcare services.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute has found that 47 percent of the 4,736 respondents who participated in a poll on expectations regarding the upcoming policy address thought the address was "very important," while a quarter thought it was "unimportant" and "somewhat unimportant."
In terms of top priorities, 55 percent of respondents said the government should prioritize the city's housing crisis, while 56 percent believed that public health should be a priority.
Political commentator Derek Yuen Mi-chang said as per his understanding, the policy address will deal with the housing shortage, but cautioned that it cannot be solved within a single administrative term.
