Hong Kong Palace Museum

Hong Kong Palace Museum
香港故宮文化博物館

Aerial photo of the Nursery Park, site of the future Palace Museum
Location within Hong Kong
Location West Kowloon
Hong Kong
Coordinates 22°18′08″N 114°09′20″E / 22.3021°N 114.1556°E / 22.3021; 114.1556Coordinates: 22°18′08″N 114°09′20″E / 22.3021°N 114.1556°E / 22.3021; 114.1556
Type Art and history museum
Public transit access Kowloon Station

The Hong Kong Palace Museum (Chinese: 香港故宮文化博物館) is a planned museum exhibiting artifacts of Beijing's Palace Museum in Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD). Construction is planned to begin in 2017, with the museum scheduled for completion by 2022.[1]

Conception

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam stated that the idea of the museum was conceived during an event in Beijing in September 2015. She said that she asked the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust about funding the $3.5 billion project in December 2015, and that the request was approved by their board of directors in October 2016.[2]

Announcement and reaction

News of the museum was made public in a surprise announcement on 23 December 2016. On that day Chief Secretary Carrie Lam signed a cooperation agreement with the Palace Museum in Beijing.[3] The signing was witnessed by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Chinese culture minister Luo Shugang.[4] Leung commented, "This is the best and greatest gift to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland", referring to the 2017 commemoration of the Handover.[5]

The new museum will display relics lent from the Forbidden City on a long-term basis. It will be managed by a subsidiary of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA).[5] The cost of construction is planned to be covered by a $3.5 billion donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.[4] The funding arrangement circumvents the need for the government to seek funding from the Legislative Council.[6]

The announcement was controversial. Critics complained of the lack of consultation. Others view the museum as an effort to increase Beijing's influence in Hong Kong and as a "political scheme" to foment patriotism.[6] This follows a year of political turmoil in Hong Kong surrounding Beijing's encroachment on the territory's rights and freedoms, including civil unrest in Mong Kok, government disqualification of certain candidates prior to the Legislative Council election, demonstrations in front of the Liaison Office in Sai Wan, and the ousting of democratically elected pro-independence legislators.[5]

Ada Wong, who sits on the consultation panel of the WKCDA, said that the panel received no notification prior to the announcement of the new museum. She questioned the secrecy surrounding the project, asking: "If it is a good proposal, why didn’t they communicate with us sooner? [...] The government should tell us why it chose to inform Hong Kong people in this manner. It should explain why it didn’t begin the consultation process sooner, whether West Kowloon is the best site, and who will lead the project." She said she would not oppose the museum, but suggested that its content should be presented from a Hong Kong perspective.[7] Legislator James To said that the opacity of the project planning was "absolutely inappropriate" and undermined Hong Kong's autonomy.[6]

Town planner Camille Lam criticised the direct appointment of Rocco Yim as architect without any design competition, as had been done with the M+ Museum, or open tender, as is common practice for other public buildings. She said that the public should be consulted as the government was changing the established plan for the WKCD, which was drawn up with extensive public consultation.[6]

On the other hand, a group called the Alliance in Support of Hong Kong Palace Museum was formed to support the idea. The convenor, Fok kin-man, stated that the lack of consultation was so that the government could give the Hong Kong people a pleasant surprise.[1]

Description

The 328,000 square feet (30,500 m2) building will be designed by Hong Kong architecture firm Rocco Design Architects, who was directly appointed.[6] It will comprise two exhibition halls, activity rooms, a 400-seat theatre, a gift shop and a restaurant.[5]

It will be built on the site of the West Kowloon Nursery Park.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Cheung, Karen (4 January 2017). "Gov’t announces HK$3.8m TVB show on Palace Museum amid Hong Kong project controversy". Hong Kong Free Press.
  2. ↑ Cheng, Kris (6 January 2017). "Palace Museum plan came from chat with Beijing head in 2015, says Chief Sec. at LegCo grilling". Hong Kong Free Press.
  3. ↑ Cheng, Kris (29 December 2016). "No-one can reject charm of former imperial palace, says Chief Sec. during second China visit in a week". Hong Kong Free Press.
  4. 1 2 "Palace museum set for HK". Hong Kong Government. 23 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Qin, Amy (27 December 2016). "Planned Hong Kong Museum Will Showcase China’s Imperial Relics". The New York Times.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bland, Ben (3 January 2017). "Palace Museum row highlights Hong Kong-Beijing tensions". Financial Times.
  7. ↑ Ng, Ellie (28 December 2016). "Decision to build HK$3.5bn Palace Museum made without consultation, adviser reveals". Hong Kong Free Press.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.