“Culture bureau”

2012 was election year for the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Three Chief Executive candidates, namely Leung Chun-ying, Henry Tang Ying-nin and Albert Ho Chun-yan, proposed that there should be a ““culture bureau”” in the new administration (to commence operation from July 2012). Their proposals triggered heated discussion in the culture sector on the architecture of the bureau, the terms of reference, and candidates for the secretary for culture. Experienced members of the culture sector recalled that twenty years ago, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) was established according to the same objectives of the “culture bureau” proposed by the Chief Executive candidates. For two decades, the establishment of a “culture bureau” could not be materialized so the sector looked eagerly forward to its potential set up. Leung Chun-ying was elected Chief Executive in March 2012 yet his proposed administration structure comprising of “5-Secretaries-14-Bureaux” was not approved by the Legislative Council (LegCo). The proposal for establishing a “culture bureau” was shelved.