The following is a speech by the Acting Head of Create Hong Kong, Mr Alan Siu, at the opening ceremony of the “Character of Hong Kong” cartoon exhibition today (November 12):
Sandy (Flockhart), Juliet (Flockhart), Jan (Lamb), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon!
It gives me great pleasure to join you today for the opening of the “Character of Hong Kong” cartoon exhibition and drawing competition.
This event reminds me of the memorable moments at our childhood. To me or probably many of the Hong Kong people, the reading of comics represents joyful memories of our childhood that can never be forgotten.
Hong Kong comics have come a long way to where it is today. From“Uncle Cai”(財叔) and“13 Dots”(13點) in the 60s and“Little Rascals”(小流氓) in the 70s, to recent hits such as“Feel 100%”(百分百感覺), Hong Kong comics have been capturing the hearts of local children and young people. Growing together with the city through these years, our comics sector has developed a culture and tradition of its own. Not only does this culture come from the character of Hong Kong people, it is indeed part of the character of Hong Kong.
The quality of Hong Kong comics has reached international level and our local comic works are gaining recognition in the international arena. A clear example is that Hong Kong comic artists have won the Grand Prize of both the 1st and 2nd International Manga Awards of Japan, which is regarded as the Oscar for comics in the region. Such recognition also comes from the fact that more and more works of Hong Kong comic artists are published in Japan, which is the leading market of comic development in the world.
The Government has geared up its efforts to boost the local comics industries and to drive them to scale new heights. Even the Financial Secretary has used comics to explain in a simple manner his budgetary principles to young people. The setting up of the Create Hong Kong Office and the establishment of the $300 million CreateSmart Initiative in June this year would certainly help to spearhead the development of the local creative economy. Comics industry, being one of the local creative industries, will definitely gain through this new impetus.
However, it takes more than just the Government to drive development of the comics sector. On this front, I am glad that HSBC has initiated this meaningful project of “Character of Hong Kong”, which engages local comic artists and students to portray the character of Hong Kong through cartoon drawings. In addition to this exhibition, free cartoon drawing workshops as well as a cartoon drawing competition will also be held to stimulate creativity and help discover our future comic talent. I applaud HSBC for its dedication and enthusiasm in fostering creativity in Hong Kong.
Before I close, I would like to encourage everyone to stop by in this busy district of Central and take a few minutes’ break to appreciate the works of our local comic talent. Lastly, I wish the event every success.
Thank you.
Ends/Thursday, November 12, 2009