Hong Kong’s arts funding body has vowed not to cut financial support for arts groups and artists for the next three years, even as it undertakes a review of its grant system amid tightening public finances.
The Hong Kong Arts Development Council’s pledge on Monday comes amid a government effort to get statutory bodies to reduce spending, as reinforced by finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po’s latest budget in February.
The council, along with other government bodies, faces reductions of about 2 per cent to its recurrent subvention this financial year, as the government presses ahead with spending cuts.
Most bureaus and departments were required to reduce expenditure by 1 per cent in 2024-25 and 2 per cent annually from 2025-26 through to 2027-28, amounting to a cumulative 7 per cent across the four financial years.
“I think I can make a promise, and I think this is a responsible promise from the [council], that in the next three years, even if government funding is reduced, we will not reduce the grants to our arts sector,” chairman Kenneth Fok Kai-kong said.
“This is the council’s collective decision … a commitment we can give to the arts and culture sector.”
The council would instead aim to save costs internally and optimise how public funds were used, he added.
