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Letters | Hong Kong after coronavirus will need the arts more than ever: help hard-hit performers tide over the tough times
- Many of those working in arts and entertainment are self-employed or on short-term, project-based contracts, and may not be eligible for government subsidies
- Post-Covid-19, we will need the arts more than ever to inspire, excite and entertain
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As Hong Kong’s unemployment rate hit 4.2 per cent, the highest in nearly a decade, the most visible casualties of the economic fallout from Covid-19 are the retail sector and the food and beverages trade.
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However, beyond the shuttered shops, bars and restaurants, a large group of workers that are not so visible, yet who are no less important to the city’s vitality and character, are deeply anxious about their jobs and futures.
The prospects are dim for creative talent at all levels of the arts sector, as live performances stop, most galleries and museum facilities remain closed and the curtains stay down at forlorn event venues.
The livelihoods of those working in the arts sector, and entertainment more broadly, are particularly imperilled, because such people are often self-employed or are on short-term, project-based contracts. This means they do not necessarily have a Mandatory Provident Fund account, and are thus ineligible for a one-off coronavirus subsidy from the government. In other words, they work without a safety net.
It was, therefore, heartening to see Canto-pop star Aaron Kwok Fu-shing stage an online charity concert on May 9, raising more than HK$1 million for financially struggling dancers. The event was backed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, itself a long-standing supporter of the arts and culture scene in Hong Kong.
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