Public consultation for Hong Kong Palace Museum project engaged 48,000 people, but arts insiders still sceptical
Cultural workers have dismissed the exercise and demanded a fresh round of talks
While the managing body of the arts hub was pleased with the good response, a former member on the authority’s advisory panel criticised the exercise as ineffective and one that only intensified public mistrust in the HK$3.5 billion project.
Many felt the exercise was aimed at soothing growing concerns over the transparency of the project, which would house imperial art collections on loan from the Palace Museum in Beijing.
As part of the consultation exercise, an exhibition – a collection of poster displays – held at City Gallery in Central drew 22,244 visitors, while a web page attracted 22,640 page views.
A total of 1,575 questionnaires were completed, while 58 submissions were received by post or email.
To further reach out to the community, the authority polled 1,805 people who were randomly selected on the streets across 18 districts between February 28 and March 7.