The Hong Kong government’s proposal that Tsim Sha Tsui’s popular Science Museum would make way for a new attraction celebrating China’s achievements was only an “initial idea,” the city’s culture chief has said.
The government was “not seeking approval” from the legislature when it submitted a proposal for the site selection of a dedicated museum focusing on China’s fight against foreign invasion, socio-political development and technological advancement, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said on Thursday.
His remarks came a day after the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau told the Legislative Council (LegCo) that a museum dedicated to “enhancing the recognition of the Chinese nation and its excellent traditional culture” would take over the site of the Science Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui East.
The new museum should be located in the city centre and and accessible for residents, tourists and students. It also needed sufficient space to display collections marking China’s development, the proposal read.
The Science Museum would be moved to the Heritage Museum in Sha Tin, the government proposed, while the collections at the Heritage Museum would be “reintegrated and repositioned” in other museums.
‘Listening to feedback’
The proposal sparked concern over whether the Heritage Museum would be axed. In response to questions from the press on Thursday, Yeung said all planning related to the museum about China’s success was still in a preparatory stage and the government was listening to different views.
“This is an initial idea, and we are listening to feedback. We never said that a heritage museum would not be established in the future,” the official said in Cantonese.
Yeung said on Thursday that after reviewing the content of individual museums last year, the government wanted to “elevate” the content of the Science Museum and had considered building an extension at the current site to accommodate more collections. But there was still not enough space, Yeung said, which led the government to propose relocating the Science Museum to Sha Tin.
The minister went on to say that the government concluded from its review that it was more fitting for the collections at the Heritage Museum to be scattered in other museums with specific themes.
He added the city may see a second branch of the Hong Kong Museum of Art in the Southern District.
Hong Kong’s plans to build new museums to hail China’s achievements were unveiled in Chief Executive John Lee’s second Policy Address in October. It was announced as part of efforts to step up patriotic education, along with new programmes to help foster a national identity and appreciation of Chinese culture.
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