If the "U.S.-Soviet Cold War" is the "first soft power world war," then the current "China-US game" can be described as the "second soft power world war."
However, unlike the previous "differences" between "capitalism" and "communism," the core of this "war" lies in the mutual learning and exchange of Chinese and Western cultures.
As the capital of Chinese and Western cultures, Hong Kong is the main battlefield of this "collision of exchanges."
For example, the "Outline of the National Fourteenth Five-Year Plan" clearly "supports Hong Kong's development of Sino-foreign cultural and artistic exchange centers", which obviously puts forward higher strategic deployment and mission requirements for Hong Kong's cultural soft power.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will set up a "Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau" for this purpose.
However, many people worry that Hong Kong has long been labelled as a "cultural desert" and that the SAR government itself is the source of cultural drying up. I am afraid that it will not be able to shoulder this important task: to blindly chase the western torrent, and under ideological prejudice, slow down. The slow loss of emphasis on traditional Chinese culture has led to the gradual distortion of the characteristics of Hong Kong, which should have been a blend of Chinese and Western civilizations. Secondly, it completely ignores the public attribute of "cultural governance" and the significance of shaping social values, and instead allows the business competition model to lead the trend. Turning culture and art into luxury goods that can only be enjoyed by the upper class; the third has almost distorted the meaning of "cultural development" and often simplified it as "organizing events". It is impossible to see the importance of improving the overall cultural quality through profound literary education. .
How should the authorities break through these predicaments so as to rebuild the soft cultural power dedicated to "Hong Kong, China", so that Hong Kong can truly integrate China and foreign countries and create a new chapter in "Chinese-foreign cultural and artistic exchanges"?
One of the sixth in the series of "Reshaping Hong Kong's Cultural Soft Power"
For details, please read the 287th "Hong Kong 01" electronic weekly newsletter "
Get rid of Blind Westernization, Establish Special Zone Subjects, Reshape Hong Kong's Cultural Soft Power
"
, published on October 18, 2021 . You can also
click here to
sample the weekly e-newsletter and read more in-depth reports.