The Hong Kong government plans to build a new museum celebrating China’s “grand development and achievements” on the site of Tsim Sha Tsui’s popular Science Museum, which will be moved out of the city’s prime tourist district.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau announced on Wednesday the site selection for the new museum focusing on China’s fight against foreign invasion, socio-political development and technological advancement.
The proposal submitted to the Legislative Council came around two months after plans to set up two new museums were unveiled in Chief Executive John Lee’s second Policy Address in October.
According to the government document, the museum dedicated to “enhancing the recognition of the Chinese nation and its excellent traditional culture” among Hongkongers would take over the site of the Science Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui East.
The location must be in the city centre and accessible for citizens, tourists and students, the government wrote. The museum also needed to be spacious in order to accommodate various exhibitions on the “grand development and achievements” of China, the proposal read.
“The museum will serve as a diversified educational platform, nurturing a multifaceted understanding and engagement with the nation among young people from an early age,” the government wrote.
Showcasing 1C2S
The content and curatorial approach of the museum would also cater to international tourists, the bureau said, with an emphasis on showcasing the advantages of One Country, Two Systems.
The exhibitions would cover the invasion of China by foreign forces, the development of the Chinese Communist Party, the Reform and Opening Up era, China’s aerospace technology, sports achievements and cultural development. The government said it would seek to collaborate with mainland museums to organise different exhibitions and lend exhibits.
“The content of the museum will include various aspects of national history, including experiences with foreign invasions and the heroic resistance during the War of Resistance [against Japan], the development of the Chinese Communist Party, the establishment of New China, and national reform and opening up…” the document said.
According to the proposal, the Science Museum, the most visited museum in the city with around 1.1 million visitors in 2022/23, would be relocated to the Heritage Museum in Sha Tin.
The Heritage Museum, which saw 451,000 visitors in the same year, may be in effect be axed as the government said its collections would be “reintegrated and repositioned” at other museums.
Hong Kong’s plans to build new museums to hail China’s achievements were part of effort to step up patriotic education. Lee said in his policy address that two new programmes would be set up to help foster national identity and a societal appreciation of Chinese culture, while patriotic education would be integrated into the education system.
The other new museum involved revamping the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence into one focusing on the city’s fight against the Japanese Occupation in 1941. The exhibitions aimed to “enhance national confidence and patriotic spirit of the general public,” the government said.
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