Hong Kong Arts Development Council’s Response to "The Hong Kong Drama Awards" Funding Issue (Supplementary)

In light of media and community concerns on the funding adjustment to the Hong Kong Drama Awards, Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) would like to supplement the following:

The Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) has been committed to promoting and supporting local arts development through the provision of funds for arts groups. During the funding process, HKADC is obliged to make best use of public funds and resources.

HKADC always strives to maintain effective communication, mutual support and trust with grantees. Since 1999, HKADC has been supporting the Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies (the Federation) through Project Grant in organising the Hong Kong Drama Awards for 24 consecutive years.

Hong Kong Drama Awards, a signature event of the drama sector, invited theatre veterans, renowned artists, representatives from the government and HKADC as award presenters in the past. The mutual trust and good relationship between HKADC and the Federation is built on its long-term funding history and performance. Nevertheless, for “the 31st Hong Kong Drama Awards” (“the Awards”) held in June 2023, the Federation deviated from past practices without discussing with HKADC to introduce new theme to the Awards and to invite award presenters from other sectors. After thorough review and discussion, HKADC made a funding adjustment in late November 2023. On 8 December 2023, HKADC’s senior executive personally met with a representative of the Board of the Federation to express HKADC’s concerns and to meticulously explain the funding decision was made after scrupulous consideration and discussion. On 31 December, the Federation wrote to request HKADC to state clearly which segments or clips of the Awards are directly or indirectly responsible for bringing any disrepute or damaging the reputation or causing adverse inference to the reputation of HKADC. HKADC’s formal reply, dated 12 January 2024, clearly explained the inappropriate content and the deviations from past practices. An excerpt of the reply (translated) as below:

“The 31st Hong Kong Drama Awards (the Awards) was held at Kwai Tsing Theatre’s Auditorium on 14 June 2023 with livestreaming arrangment. HKADC received feedbacks including concerns from its council members and government representatives on the theme, content, stage design of the Awards and award presenters from other sectors. This has deviated from past practices in which theatre veterans, renowned artists, representatives from the government and HKADC were invited as award presenters. The Federation invited instead the then-controversial cartoonist Zunzi (Wong Kei-kwan) and former RTHK reporter Bao Choy as award presenters. In addition, the two award hosts conversed on ‘red bridge’ and ‘red line’, making remarks with subtext. HKADC cannot subscribe to the notion of raising public and media attention as well as social topics through this approach. This necessitated the decision in funding adjustment to indicate unacceptance. According to clauses 3.3 and 4.2 of the agreement with grantees, the grant offered by HKADC is made subject to the satisfactory performance by the grantee of the terms and conditions of the agreement and the Council’s overriding right to modify or suspend payment or adjust upwards or downwards or to demand immediate repayment of any portion or all of the Grant as determined by the Council in its sole discretion.

HKADC has been committed to promoting and supporting local arts development. As stated in the Federation’s letter to HKADC, HKADC has always maintained a positive cooperative relationship of mutual trust with grantees. HKADC would not hastily exercise its overriding right to reduce or suspend payment if grantees take full and due responsibility for the prudential governance, decision making and operation, ensured the funded project is implemented in accordance with the objectives, concepts, content, approaches, expected results of the funding, and is accountable to the government and the public for using public funds.

As a government-funded statutory body, HKADC is obliged to make the best use of public funds with regard to the interests of the general public. The decision was made through a scrupulous discussion by the Arts Support Committee of HKADC and endorsed by the Council, in consideration of past funding records of the Federation and the extraordinary arrangement of the Awards. In future, we sincerely hope that the Federation will continue to present the Awards which is not only recognised by the sector but also appreciated by the general public.”