Bernard Chan Pak-li, Hong Kong under secretary for commerce and economic development, talks to the audience at the panel. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)
Hong Kong should capitalize on the vast Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area market to break through the limitations facing its cultural and creative development and seek better growth of the industry, officials and scholars said on Tuesday.
They made the call at the Greater Bay Area Cultural Heritage and Creative Innovation Conference, jointly organized by the Department of Art and Design, the Centre for Greater China Studies of the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, and China Daily.
Hong Kong has advantages in a range of cultural and creative areas, including movies, TV, music, and design, and has great potential for development, said Bernard Chan Pak-li, Hong Kong under secretary for commerce and economic development.
The city is home to more than 40,000 cultural and creative industry-related enterprises, with over 200,000 practitioners, Chan said, adding that the industry’s added value has hit HK$100 billion (US$12.9 billion), roughly 4 percent of the city’s GDP.
However, a relatively small market size and shortage of land are hampering the industry’s development, Chan noted.
“Therefore, Hong Kong should seek coordinated development with other cities in the Greater Bay Area,” he said, adding that the 11-city cluster’s rapid economic growth, affluent population and high demand for culture and art will bring big opportunities to Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industry.
“As an important city in the Greater Bay Area with a vibrant, open and creative environment, Hong Kong can play a key role of ‘bringing in’ and ‘going out’. It not only can work together with mainland enterprises to explore overseas markets, but also can expand development space for its creative industry by integrating further into the mainland market,” Chan said.
He added that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is ramping up efforts to promote development of the industry through two special projects — the Film Development Fund and the CreateSmart Initiative. The aim is to provide support to startups and nurture talent, help businesses explore new markets, enhance the creative atmosphere in the city, and foster digital transformation of the industry, Chan said.
Chan’s view were echoed by Simon Ho Shun-man, president of the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, who also said that integration into the Greater Bay Area market is the solution to breaking through Hong Kong’s contraints in the development of its cultural and creative industry.
Ho pointed out that cooperation among Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao in the field is “not that much and deep” at the present time. “Government, private sector, schools and industry can take this opportunity to enhance cooperation and unleash our potential,” he said.
Zhou Li, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific, said the Greater Bay Area has a special cultural ethos, which is developed from its unique conditions. The three parties in the area — Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao — share similarities in tradition and language, but have different economic systems and laws.
“Compared to (the time and effort invested in) urban construction, infrastructure and tech development, cultural construction of the Greater Bay Area could be a long expedition and constant efforts are needed,” he said.
Zhou said there are three elements to be reckoned with when it comes to cultural and creative development.
First, to be open to the world, assimilate the excellent culture and civilization from other places in the world; second, harness the benefits of technology and circumvent its drawbacks; third, hold dear to the idea of being human-centered, he said.
Tam Kwok-kan, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, emphasized the importance of education in the development of a cultural and creative industry.
The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong attaches high importance to creative education and its integration with the industry, and it has set up new subjects over the past few years to support its development, he said.
“The industry is now focusing on proposing new disciplinary developments to coordinate the development of a cultural and creative industry in China and across Asia,” he said.
