The is hong kong The Heritage Museum is a fascinating and eclectic museum. Visitors stroll through a colonial-era reading room and a full-size replica of the opera house made of bamboo. The exhibition about Bruce Lee includes Bruce Lee’s words that call on people to “be like water, formless, shapeless beings.” This slogan inspired pro-democracy protesters in 2019. It may be a jumbled collection, but it represents “our collective memory.” ” says Casey Wong, a Hong Kong-born artist who exhibits there. “That’s why it’s so important.”
The museum affirms and protects the city’s unique culture. Approximately 451,000 people visited last year. But it may not be around for long. Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing government wants to build the city’s first major museum dedicated to China’s “great development and achievements.” The government recently outlined plans to take over the site in a busy tourist district occupied by a science museum, relocate the science museum to a heritage museum, and dismantle the heritage museum’s collections. In response to the backlash, local media now report that the government will overhaul cultural heritage museums to focus solely on pop culture.
Last year, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee pledged to open two new museums to “further foster national dignity and patriotism.” Institutions that objected to party policy were shut down, including a small museum dedicated to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The Chinese Culture Promotion Office is currently preparing. The plan is to prioritize “Chinese culture and history.” All of this is related to China’s plan to become a “museum superpower” by 2035, with the country set to open 382 new museums in 2022.
Hong Kongers are depressed about the future fate of cultural heritage museums. “Turning this into a museum of popular culture is like people listening to bagpipe music but not talking about Scotland,” Wong says. He organized a petition asking the government to keep heritage museums as they are, and expected to gather around 60 signatures. Approximately 700 Hong Kongers signed the petition. Many were associated with the pro-democracy movement and left the city. He does not expect the government to pay any attention to their anger. Hong Kongers living abroad will preserve Hong Kong’s culture, he said. But “if you’re going to stay in Hong Kong, you’ll have to be patient.” ■
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