Being a lover of the performing arts, I will have to take issue with Lau Nai-keung's claim that 'except for a few key performances, the seats [for performances in the Hong Kong Arts Festival] are mostly empty, with those few that are occupied being taken mainly by expatriates and members of the upper- and middle-class elite' (article headlined 'Hold on to our culture', South China Morning Post, May 1). That might have been true 20 years ago, but time has moved on. In recent years, the Hong Kong Arts Festival has emerged as one of the premier international festivals of performing arts in Asia. The average attendance rate hovers in the region of 85 to 90 per cent, which compares favourably with the attendance rate at major arts festivals in Europe. The attendance rate for this year's festival reached 90 per cent. The figures speak for themselves. And anyone who has attended programmes during the Festival, whether they are those featuring big international names or new commissions and performances given by home-grown or mainland talents, would notice that the proportion of Hong Kong Chinese is steadily on the rise and is now, in most cases, much larger than the proportion of expatriates. It is also heartening to note that student tickets for most shows are often snapped up well in advance. Mainland cultural officials, and in particular those in such cities as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, are now sending out invitations to internationally renowned artists every month. In recent years, international arts festivals which closely resemble our own have been held in Beijing and Shanghai. How ironic that while PRC government officials and mainland audiences are gradually adopting a more international outlook, there are some in Hong Kong who would make such outdated, culturally parochial jibes against an internationally recognised and popular fixture in our annual cultural calendar, the success of which others are now emulating. HORUS LAU North Point