China News Service, Beijing, March 7th: Title: Adrian Cheng: Proposal to establish a "Chinese Culture IP Exchange" in Hong Kong

　　China News Service reporter Zeng Ping

　　During the National Two Sessions in 2024, Cheng Zhigang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Hong Kong and Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of New World Development, proposed in a proposal to establish a “Chinese Cultural IP (Intellectual Property) Exchange” in Hong Kong.

He told a reporter from China News Service that Hong Kong has the unique advantage of becoming a center for cultural and artistic exchanges between China and foreign countries. Hong Kong's cultural and artistic ecology has long been formed, but how to achieve sustainable development is still an important issue.

During the National Two Sessions in 2024, Hong Kong member Cheng Zhigang of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference outside the Great Hall of the People.

(Photo provided by interviewee)

　　"Hong Kong was once called a 'cultural desert'. This is a misunderstanding." Zheng Zhigang said that Hong Kong has a profound cultural heritage. Since the 1950s, it has been a place for cultural exchanges between China and the West. In the following decades, it has become the center of Hong Kong's film and television industry. In the golden age, "song, film and television" prospered and developed.

Jin Yong's works are well-known in the Chinese world, and Bruce Lee brought Chinese Kung Fu culture to Hollywood.

　　"After the handover, Hong Kong has reached a higher level in the field of culture and art and has made considerable progress." Zheng Zhigang said that the completion of the West Kowloon Cultural District has created a new development highland for the development of Hong Kong's culture and art.

The city's vast international network, multiple cultural colors, and high-level professional services make it an ideal place for Chinese and foreign enterprises to exchange and learn from each other. These are the unique advantages of Hong Kong as a center for cultural and artistic exchanges between China and foreign countries.

　　Zheng Zhigang, who graduated from the East Asian Literature Department of Harvard University, has been interested in art since he was a child. He believes that art is not superior and far away from life.

Everyone has an instinctive curiosity and pursuit of creativity, culture and art. Culture and art are a global language, a source of soft power, and a part of life.

　　Zheng Zhigang said that Chinese civilization carries many excellent traditional cultures.

His original intention of "let more people see the beauty of Chinese civilization" prompted him to do his best to promote the development of literature and art.

As the chairman of the Hong Kong Cultural and Art Events Committee, he proposed the establishment of a "Chinese Cultural IP Exchange" based on the importance of the cultural and artistic "ecosystem".

　　"Jin Yong's literary works are important IPs of contemporary Chinese culture." Zheng Zhigang said, for example, that Jin Yong's martial arts novels not only deal with love and hatred, but also integrate Confucianism, Taoism, history, religion and many other Chinese cultural elements.

Whether it is characters, real locations describing scenes, or fine wines and dishes, they can be turned into different categories of products, covering film and television, games, food, tourism and other fields. It can be seen that this IP has cultural and commercial potential for industrialization and globalization.

　　The upcoming sculpture exhibition to commemorate the centenary of Jin Yong’s birth in Hong Kong is a move to leverage the above potential and connect cultural IP with the event economy.

Cheng Zhigang said that a Jin Yong IP event not only attracts tourists, but also provides business opportunities for different industries.

This exhibition will have the opportunity to "go overseas" and enter the international stage in the future.

Hong Kong has a long history of intersection between Chinese and Western cultures, and many cultural IPs have a long history like Jin Yong's novels. The key to promoting cultural IPs to become grand events is to keep pace with the times and introduce new ones.

　　To further promote events as a driving force for economic development, the "Events Economy 1.0" model of simply holding large-scale events is not enough. Zheng Zhigang believes that in the future, it is necessary to develop "Events Economy 2.0" and build a "Chinese cultural IP ecosystem" in Hong Kong that connects China and other countries. ", establish a sound market system, and incubate more cultural IP.

　　In Adrian Cheng's view, the key to promoting Hong Kong's event economy is to seize its unique position as a cultural and art exchange center between China and foreign countries, "bring in" foreign events and "export" Hong Kong's unique cultural IP.

At the same time, all walks of life must cooperate to develop different tourism products so that tourists can have more in-depth experiences.

　　When it comes to performing his duties, Adrian Cheng said, "Pragmatic advice cannot be obtained by seeking advice from a desperate situation or working behind closed doors." He hopes that the advice he puts forward can not only bear in mind the greatness of the country, but also closely follow the reality of Hong Kong.

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