Eva Nguyen Binh, roving ambassador for French cultural diplomacy, was right when she told reporters that Hong Kong needs to develop its own cultural identity. She advised that Hong Kong should not attempt to clone the French cultural industry model. She raised a basic question: “First, you need to know what you are doing when you attempt to develop your cultural industry: Do you want to draw more tourists, improve people’s impression of Hong Kong, or do you want to promote artistic and cultural pursuits, adding to the soul of Hong Kong?”

Interestingly, while developing Hong Kong’s own cultural identity is an important policy goal, all that cultural workers need to do is to exercise their judgment and let their creativity fly. Cultural workers should be given the greatest freedom possible to unleash their creativity, to reflect the true life of people: their aspirations, their struggles, their happy and unhappy moments, their honest reflections and, above all, their dreams and yearnings.

Interestingly, there are giants in arts and culture in the West, and there are giants in arts and culture in the East. All these giants, regardless of their background, are unknowingly collaborators in portraying the human struggle for “heaven on earth”: truthfulness, goodness, and beauty.

The French do their part; the Italians do their part; the Germans do their part; the Africans, Latinos, Chinese, Japanese and everybody else, all do their parts, pursuing the common “one dream” in our “one world”.

Cultural workers in Hong Kong know that we have a unique story to tell: our Chinese roots, our international links, our openness, our lovely city and country parks, our cultural heritage, and our history.

I am happy to see that the Blueprint urges the government to explore different ways to increase venues for practice and performance. The Blueprint proposes enhancing the arts, culture and creative industries ecosystem. This hits the nail on its head. The key to enhancing the ecosystem is to allow more room for artistic and cultural expression. Apart from more physical space, I hope that the authorities will allow the greatest degree of freedom of expression possible, as long as national security is assured

Director Johnnie To Kei-fung recently lamented to the BBC that he was at the low ebb of his life because “he and Hong Kong had lost their souls”. Somehow, he has the perception that with the passing of the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL), he has lost the freedom to make films at will. This perception is unfortunate. In view of the social turmoil of 2019, it should be clear that the NSL is necessary legislation that sets out to protect Hong Kong from slipping into chaos. The law is not meant to trample on the freedom of filmmakers to depict Hong Kong people’s real lives, thoughts and activities. Its reach should be no more than what is necessary to prevent the HKSAR from being used to subvert China’s political system. Hong Kong’s human rights are still under the protection of our Basic Law. There should be nothing to fear.

However, despite its good intentions, there is a possibility that during its implementation, some excesses may have occurred.

This should be minimized. The authorities should allow as much room as possible for creative work, subject to the bottom line that propaganda promoting separatism, attacking or sneering at China’s political system, or violating the Basic Law, cannot be allowed. This is because China’s current political system, which ensures that its leaders have the heart and ability to serve the country, and which has enabled China to make huge strides on many fronts, must be protected as a highly valued institutional infrastructure.

In November, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government released the Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development. The HKSAR government takes the culture and creative industries very seriously. According to Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, who served as secretary for culture, sports and tourism at the time, “It sets out a clear vision, principles and strategic directions to foster future development enhancing the appeal of Hong Kong’s culture, while at the same time boosting residents’ sense of achievement and happiness, and further consolidating Hong Kong’s position as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange and building a diversified cultural environment.”

The appeal of Hong Kong’s culture comes from its uniqueness and the authenticity of feelings and expressions through various media: drama, music, visual arts, dance and opera. This uniqueness reflects Hong Kong’s distinctive situation as a predominantly Chinese and yet multiracial, cosmopolitan metropolis under the “one country, two systems” framework. I know that Hong Kong’s cultural community is extremely vibrant, yet for a long time it has been frustrated at the shortage of practice and performance venues. I expressed a wish that the Western Kowloon Cultural District would greatly expand the number of such venues, but it has ended up hosting “world-class” shows and exhibitions, bypassing most local artists whose efforts have not been adequately recognized.  

I am happy to see that the Blueprint urges the government to explore different ways to increase venues for practice and performance. The Blueprint proposes enhancing the arts, culture and creative industries ecosystem. This hits the nail on its head. The key to enhancing the ecosystem is to allow more room for artistic and cultural expression. Apart from more physical space, I hope that the authorities will allow the greatest degree of freedom of expression possible, as long as national security is assured.

The author is an adjunct research professor at Pan Sutong Shanghai-HK Economic Policy Research Institute and Economics Department, Lingnan University.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.