Indian artists are being flown in for a government-sponsored show on Sunday to encourage cross-cultural understanding. As part of a Home Affairs Bureau initiative to promote intercommunity understanding and interracial harmony, the 'Culture in Motion: India' show hopes to attract Indian, Chinese and other communities to the dance and music extravaganza at Wan Chai's Queen Elizabeth Stadium. A similar show on Nepal is also planned. The show, the fifth in a series, comes as social workers warn that youths from ethnic minorities, particularly from Nepal, are becoming easy targets for gang recruitment because they are socially disconnected, unemployed or misunderstood. Fermi Wong Wai-fun, executive director of Unison Hong Kong for Ethnic Equality, said such cultural events were important, 'so local Chinese people can really appreciate Indian culture and have some contact with local Indians'. 'Dealing with ethnic-minority issues should not always be through serious issues in the newspapers, but through some 'softer' ways of having fun, and enjoying music and dance,' she said. Shirley Chan Wai-ching of the bureau's race relations unit, said the bureau had earmarked $800,000 for each show. 'We attempt to make every effort to attract people of other cultures to the show,' she said. 'The admission is free ... [and an] important purpose is to recognise the ethnic diversity and the cultural heritage of our minority communities.'
