Transcript of press conference on development of West Kowloon Cultural District

Following is the transcript (English portion) of a press conference by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, on the development of West Kowloon Cultural District at the Central Government Offices this afternoon (November 10):

Reporter: I was just wondering how big a role will the public consultation process play in the selection process?

Chief Secretary: It will be a very significant role. We will listen very carefully. We will look at and examine all the questionnaires received. This will be very influential in the final selection process. It will definitely influence our negotiations with the prospective developers to ensure the public views are fully reflected in the process. And the final decision will be made known to the public and they will be able to see to what extent their views were taken into account in the final choice.

Reporter: How is the Government going to ensure that the cultural hub won't be transformed into a commercial district or that it won't be too commercialised?

Chief Secretary: One of the critical elements in our assessment is the way in which the developers would want the facilities to be run. And this in fact is a third of the total assessment process. We are going to ensure that these provisions will be adequate to protect the integrity of those cultural facilities to ensure the sustainability of these facilities over a period of at least 30 years and to make sure they produce high-quality programmes during the course of the 30 years. This will be part and parcel of the assessment process.

(Please also refer to Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Wednesday, November 10, 2004

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Public consultation on WKCD development proposals to launch in mid-December