The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority has experienced frequent personnel changes recently. On Thursday (19th), Chief Financial Officer Fung Kit-yee resigned. On the same day, it was announced that Wu Jingjun, Political Assistant to the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, would become the general manager of communications and public affairs.
The West Kowloon Building Project has been repeatedly delayed and overrun, costing more than 20 billion yuan in public funds. The original promise to promote the long-term development of Hong Kong into an international art and cultural metropolis and the development of cultural and creative industries has not yet been realized, but the high-level flow continues, which makes people worry that it will not be possible. Develop systematically.
Taking into account Kitty Fung, out of the nine high-level posts in the West Kowloon Administration Bureau, the number of posts vacant or replaced by acting has increased to four.
In addition, in recent years, West Kowloon has been unable to get rid of the script of constant management substitutions.
Fang Meiang, the performing arts director who was previously appointed in 2017, resigned in April this year; Situ Zemin was promoted internally to chief engineering officer in January 2019, but left in July this year; the previous chief executive Bo Zhigao left early in November last year And showed that that was not the way he wanted to leave.
Counting a bit further, the two previous chief executives Xie Zhuofei and Lian Nazhi also left early, and the former only served for five months.
Tang Yingnian said that the board of directors has approved the appointment of Feng Cheng Shuyi as the new chief executive officer of West Kowloon.
(Photo by Chen Shuxia)
Difficult to see long-term planning
The West Kowloon Administration Bureau can be described as a lot of poor performance, engineering, financial, personnel, and acquisition of collections.
The Authority is responsible for the construction of 40 hectares of cultural projects. Since 2008, it has received 21.6 billion funding from the Legislative Council. Up to now, only the Xiqu Center, M+ Museum, Pavilion, Free Space and Art Park have been completed. No matter whether it is completed or under construction, it cannot be avoided. Delayed overspending.
To make matters worse, the Authority may fall into financial difficulties in the next few years. Last year, the Authority warned that it is likely to seek funding from the Legislative Council again, which means that the project has become a bottomless pit.
In addition, the collections of the M+ Museum have repeatedly caused controversy, and the criteria for purchasing exhibits have been vague, causing outsiders to question the private acceptance of the art world. Some of them have been accused of politically sensitive artworks and have attracted criticism from the establishment camp.
The West Kowloon Cultural District continues to change personnel. The most direct consequence is that the organization lacks direction, and policies change with people, and there may be changes in order, making it difficult to make long-term and systematic planning.
The continued occurrence of substitutions also raises concerns that there will be structural reasons.
In the early days, the bureau employed more art administrators from other places. Although they were well-known, they lacked the knowledge and context of the local cultural circle. They also despised project delays. In addition, the political and art circles also had reservations about candidates from other places. There are conflicts in decision-making from time to time.
For example, Jin Daiqiang, a member of the West Kowloon Administration and the M+ Board of Directors and the Acquisitions Committee, was once dissatisfied with the mixed backgrounds of the members of the Administration, and it was difficult to make decisions with foresight.
Kitty Fung (middle) joined the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority in September 2019. The contract originally expired next month and left today today.
(Photo of CUHK Alumni Affairs Office)
The new CEO must be determined
In recent years, West Kowloon’s board of directors has changed its strategy of employing people from local backgrounds. Bo Zhigao and Feng Cheng Shuyi, who acted as chief executive officer in the past year, are also senior administrative officers, and they have not been able to restore the decline.
It is rumored that Bai Zhigao left early because of discord with the board of directors. For example, the board member Ye Aodong said that the other party had modified the engineering and building design to increase the cost. Mutual trust.
As for Feng Cheng Shuyi, as mentioned above, during his term of office, the two high-level supervisors of finance and engineering left their posts and failed to "stop the bleeding" for the bureau.
The resignation may reflect personal accountability, but the management has been unable to show that after the replacement, the bureau’s governance and project progress have improved significantly. What the outside world sees is that public funds have been squandered: there are five senior executives who can "bag away" every year. The remuneration of more than 3 million yuan, the CEO's remuneration even reached more than 6 million yuan, and the head of the company and the director of the company are even more generous.
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The high-levels come and go, and the atmosphere of personnel transfer is extended to the lower-levels. In the future, it will be difficult to attract outstanding talents to positions at all levels. The outside world will also look down on Hong Kong's ability to promote culture and art and become an art capital.
The worst thing is that employees are revolving doors when they are a bureau, and they don't care about their duties.
The management of the West Kowloon Cultural District is responsible for a series of personnel changes, but the West Kowloon Cultural District Board of Directors, which is responsible for setting the direction of the West Kowloon Cultural District and supervising the management bureau, cannot escape the blame.
At the time of chaos, the only certainty is that Feng Cheng Shuyi will officially take the post of chief executive officer in October.
She once said that during her acting term, she "rekindled her enthusiasm and ideals for West Kowloon, and hoped to witness the opening of the Hong Kong Palace Museum as a coordinator, and decided to postpone her retirement."
However, the enthusiasm and ideals of one person are not enough, and a solid team must work together.
While taking into account the engineering and finances, she must also stabilize the military spirit. The current and newly hired management can withstand various challenges and end the "jumping".
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