Tourism can enjoy a better future if the sector integrates more deeply with culture and the arts, and blends virtual and physical travel experiences through digitalization, cultural experts and business leaders said at the Global Tourism Economy Forum on Friday. “Culture and art are a universal language for humanity and play a significant role in international dialogue and exchange of civilizations,” said Wang Bo, chairman of Poly Culture Group Corp, a Chinese arts company. “Through innovative initiatives in cultural tourism, film, music, sports, and other specialized sectors, countries benefit from (their) rich cultural heritage, which contributes to their economic development,” he added. The development of the cultural industry is closely tied to market-driven forces. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the sector can generate an annual revenue of $2.25 trillion and provide nearly 30 million jobs. “We believe that the cultural industry plays a crucial role in promoting mutual exchange and development of civilizations,” Wang said, adding that more efforts should be made to integrate tourism with culture and the arts, which can serve as an intrinsic driving force for tourism. Wang Yuegong, deputy director of the Palace Museum, said technological applications not only make the preservation of relics more efficient but also help boost the cultural tourism sector. The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, was China's imperial palace from 1420 to 1911. It houses over 1.86 million cultural relics. As one of the country’s first museums to adopt innovative technologies, the Palace Museum has rolled out digital presentations of its collections and services, including online tours. Wang said online cultural tourism enables people to visit attractions from their own home, but it doesn’t lead to a drop in the number of tourists who visit in person. “In fact, after seeing the Palace Museum online, it actually motivates people to come and visit it. This can be seen as a catalyzer for tourism,” he added. Tomaso Radaelli, chairman of Italy-based exhibitor MondoMostre, said promoting the cultural industries still requires collaborative efforts to overcome difficulties in cultural sensitivities and art preservation. “It's difficult, because sometimes there’s an issue (concerning) cultural sensitivities which you have to respect. Not every culture has the same set of values or understanding of those values,” Radaelli said. He added that art is “delicate” and “fragile”, that it needs to be insured, and that moving and preserving it requires a lot of money. “If anything happens to a piece of work, nothing is going to replace it,” he said. Pino Sagliocco, chairman of live entertainment company Live Nations Spain, said music is a harmonized force between people, and it is essential for the tourism sector to tap into music as a means to bring people from different nations together. Describing music as a driving force for young people, Sagliocco said millions of people today travel to different cities and come together for a variety of musical events and shows worldwide, and this helps increase sales at local restaurants, hotels and museums.
2023-09-22Tourism and its related industries are playing an important part in economic recovery in the post-pandemic world, officials, business leaders, and experts worldwide said on Thursday at a high-profile tourism forum in Macao. The Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) is a leading international exchange platform designed to promote the sustainable development of global tourism. Themed “Destination 2030: Unlocking the Power of Tourism for Business and Development” this year, the forum features an array of panel sessions, keynote speeches, fireside chats, and special interviews. The four-day forum is hosted by the Secretariat of Economy and Finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region government, in collaboration with the Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. The opening ceremony started with a keynote speech by the forum’s chairman, Ho Hau-wah, who is also a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top political advisory body. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said the forum is set to be the premier platform for cooperation between public and private sectors. “Today, we shape the course of the sectors’ future around the pillars of jobs, education, innovation and investments,” the UN official said. Lei Wai-nong, secretary for economy and finance of the Macao SAR and executive chairman of the forum, said Macao has become one of the core platforms for its prime assets such as tourism under the advantages of “one country, two systems”. New strategic work has been put into building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he noted. “Every year, the Macao SAR government collaborates with GTERC to come up with a forward-thinking theme for the forum in line with the latest situation and to produce an innovative format and program,” Lei added. “After a decade of hard work, the Macao SAR government has developed GTEF into a major event for the international tourism industry and a signature brand of Macao,” he added. Strengthening cooperation Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche said Italy and China are continuing to work together, not just in terms of tourism, but also in culture and other areas. Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, is this year’s partner country at GTEF. “Our two peoples are closer to each other than ever,” she said. “Italy is one of the favorite tourist destinations for Chinese tourists. After a three-year absence, Chinese tourists are coming back.” China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has included GTEF in the Sino-Italian Cultural Exchange Mechanism to consolidate mutual learning between Chinese and foreign cultures. Qiu Xiaoping, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said this year marks the 10th anniversary of the GTEF and is an important year of rapid recovery following the pandemic. Tourism still faces many challenges, he said, “but we can see the industry has a unique advantage and also it can help mold employment and enrich people’s spirits. “It actually has become a very important driving force after the pandemic,” Qiu said. Shanghai, which was designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Design in 2010, is the featured city of this year’s GTEF. Shanghai Vice-Mayor Liu Duo said Shanghai is on the path to unlock the potential of tourism for business and development and to promote the prosperity of tourism around the globe. “Shanghai has been tapping into its rich resources to develop its culture and tourism events. “We want to build channels through which we could talk to other countries and empower the development of our economy,” Liu said.
2023-09-22It’s important to adopt policies and strategies that pursue growth and sustainable development simultaneously in order to build a better tourism sector, said analysts at a panel in Macao. Celso Sabino de Oliveira, minister of tourism of Brazil, said the most important task for the tourism industry is to strike a balance between sustainable development and economic value. He made the remarks at the Global Tourism Economy Forum 2023 in an auditorium packed with industry luminaries and veteran investors from across the globe during a session focused on the future of tourism. “Tourism is more than hospitality; (it is also about) how to make good use of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions and thus protect our environment amid global warming,” de Oliveira said. But when people are protecting natural resources such as forests and rivers, it’s equally important to protect the indigenous peoples who live in those areas by offering them the same economic opportunities that residents enjoy in large cities, de Oliveira said. “We can’t put nature conservation and economic development at odds. They need to be balanced,” he added. Daniela Santanche, Italy’s minister of tourism, said sustainable tourism involves a vast array of factors including climate, the younger generation and digitization, which require more strategic planning with closer cooperation. “Making tourism sustainable can’t just be imagined. Things like culture and society are also important. It’s a team challenge for human beings,” Santanche said. She added more focus on tourism should be featured in governments’ financial budgets today to attract young people back to the sector, as many of them left during the pandemic and new opportunities are emerging, ready to be seized. Natalia Bayona, executive director of the World Tourism Organization, said education should offer young people a path into tourism, as manpower is a prerequisite for sustainable growth. According to Bayona, around 60 percent of investments in tourism go into infrastructure, but more investment should be made in people to equip the sector with the right workforce to survive and thus create a future. “We can’t be sustainable if we don’t have enough people,” she said, adding that more efforts should be made to build a strong academic community and improve online education to show young people the future while they are at school, thereby building confidence in the sector once again. Nicolas de Villiers, president and artistic director of French theme park Puy du Fou, stressed the importance of cultural roots and identities in the tourism sector. He said that globalization was expected to bring happiness to everyone, but in reality, that didn’t turn out to be the case. He said that, globally, we are going back to a world or an era in which people feel safest within their national contexts. People need to have roots within their own national communities, he added. “This is why I believe that our concept will work in the future because we are making some parks that are really rooted in the history and heritage of the countries where we go, especially in Spain or France.” According to de Villiers, his company is aiming to set up some parks, in the next country they work in, focusing on the pride of the national community. Joining the high-profile session were Rosana Morillo, vice-minister of Tourism of Spain; Nuno Fazenda, secretary of state for Tourism, Trade and Services of Portugal; and Paolo Barletta, CEO of Italy-based Arsenale SPA Company. Xu Weiwei contributed to the story. evanliu@chinadailyhk.com
2023-09-22Having borne fruit in boosting its international profile and promoting tourism development over the past decade, the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) is poised to play a more crucial role in driving the sector’s innovative growth, according to experts at the high-profile tourism gathering’s closing ceremony in Macao on Friday. “The forum has successfully completed a decade, and its significance is remarkable,” Lei Wai-nong, secretary for economy and finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region government and executive chairman of the GTEF, said in his closing remarks. “Echoing the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, we encourage thinking beyond tourism and are ready to foster more open and new cooperation within the sector,” Lei said. The 10th edition of the GTEF, which kicked off in Macao on Wednesday, featured top officials, ministers of culture and tourism, business luminaries and scholars from 38 countries and regions, as well as representatives from 84 Chinese mainland provincial-level areas and cities. The forum also witnessed the second GTEF Investment and Financing Conference, which has facilitated fruitful exchanges within the tourism industry. “It also provided valuable insights on how Macao can establish an internationally aligned financial system, explore new paths for financial support in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and develop a modern financial industry that chimes well with the principles of moderate economic diversification,” Lei said. “These discussions and insights hold significant opportunities and value for Macao’s economic development,” he added. Pansy Ho Chiu-king, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the GTEF, said the forum has been actively utilizing innovative approaches to drive continuous progress and enhance its influence while staying true to the original intention and steadfastly upholding the forum’s mission and core values. According to Ho, the establishment of the forum in Macao serves a dual purpose. On one hand, it capitalizes on Macao’s unique advantages under the “one country, two systems” principle, particularly its high degree of internationalization. This facilitates the introduction of foreign industries and investments. On the other hand, the forum dovetails with Macao’s ambition to diversify its economy. For decades, Macao has been known as the world’s gaming hub. In 2021, the gaming industry contributed around half of the city’s GDP, employing one-fifth of the city’s workforce. Today, more focus is being put on innovation and technology, cultural tourism, traditional Chinese medicine, and conventions and exhibitions, according to Ho. Ho also emphasized China’s role as a leader in the global tourism industry in her speech, saying the country will unleash its immense potential, from the tourism revolution to industry integration and sustainable development. “As an international forum that originated in China, we have brought the global tourism industry into the country over the past 10 years.” “In the next 10 years, we will expand the forum’s footprint, elevating the discourse and influence of the Chinese tourism industry on the international stage by continuing to offer an inclusive and equitable platform for stakeholders worldwide and fostering new thinking in the global tourism industry,” she said.
2023-09-22Innovation and technology have turbocharged the tourism sector’s sustainable growth, with development potential in emerging markets, the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao heard on Wednesday. The remarks were made by industry luminaries at the four-day conference being held in the special administrative region from Wednesday to Saturday. Miao Muyang, director-general of the Industrial Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said there are promising investment prospects in China’s tourism business, given its expanding market size and diverse industry landscape. “The Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of the tourism sector. President Xi Jinping has emphasized the significance of the sector on numerous occasions, highlighting that tourism serves as a primary channel for cultural exchange and collaboration among different nations, as well as an effective means to promote economic growth, create employment opportunities, and improve people’s living standards,” he said in a keynote speech at the Investment and Financing Conference, held in conjunction with the forum. The conference was attended by senior officials and veteran investors from around the world. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the added value of the nation’s tourism sector had gone up from 2.7 trillion yuan ($370.47 billion) in 2014 to 4.5 trillion yuan in 2021, at an annual growth rate of 4.99 percent. In 2019, the volume of domestic tourism reached more than 6 billion people, and total tourism revenue amounted to 6.63 trillion yuan. “It can be said that the tourism industry has played a significant role in empowering economic and social development and meeting people’s expectations for a better life,” Miao said. He expects the industry to keep up with emerging trends, such as digitalization and green development. In her opening address, Natalia Bayona, executive director of the World Tourism Organization, said the Asia-Pacific region saw rapid growth in greenfield foreign direct investment in the tourism sector between 2018 and 2022, with $65.1 billion poured into 517 investment promotion projects. Also, emerging destinations are gaining traction in attracting investments, she noted. Bayona said the Chinese mainland has been at the forefront of technological advancement in the tourism industry, with mainland companies making significant contributions to global investment in innovation and technology. She urged global stakeholders to leverage I&T to promote tourism’s high-quality development. Wang Xinjun, president and CEO of mainland-based Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting, said he hopes the conference will serve as an international platform for government institutions, tourism enterprises, and organizations to communicate and collaborate for investment partnerships and business opportunities. In a separate session themed “Redefining tourism investments: From private equity to venture capital acceleration”, Inge Huijbrechts, global senior vice-president of Radisson Hotel Group, said the current economic uncertainties, coupled with inflationary pressures, have made it increasingly challenging to secure funds for new projects. Consequently, the Radisson Hotel Group is seeking flexibility and conversion solutions, and exploring opportunities for repurposing office spaces into hotels and multifunctional developments across its various brands. Agreeing that the financial market’s stability is a major problem confronting the global tourism business, Dawood Al Shezawi, president of the United Arab Emirates-based Annual Investment Meeting, said technology and creativity are key to accelerating the sector’s growth in a high interest-rate environment. The dramatic reversal from near-zero interest rates led the global venture capital ecosystem to a sharp pullback in 2022. Global venture funding slumped 35 percent year-on-year to $415.1 billion last year, with tourism startups hard hit, according to data from CN Insights. Al Shezawi said the tourism sector needs to come up with more creative ideas and events for promotion as they can spark wide discussions and get more businesses and people involved. The conference also shed light on the lucrative business opportunities brought by the Chinese mainland’s tourism policies, which encourage collaboration between the industry and the technology, health, wellness, culture and creativity sectors. The 10th edition of the GTEF opened on Wednesday, bringing together government officials and business leaders in sharing their insights into ways of overcoming the challenges facing tourism in the post-pandemic era, and in seeking the sector’s sustainable growth. Established in 2012, the forum is hosted by the Macao Special Administrative Region government, in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
2023-09-21Technology and innovation can help Southeast Asian economies to promote food security, green development and social equity, experts said at a regional forum held May 12 in Jakarta. Participants in the 2023 ASEAN Leadership and Partnership Forum also stressed the need for collaboration among various stakeholders across the region in addressing pressing issues. The two-day forum was held after the 42nd ASEAN summit at Labuan Bajo in eastern Indonesia. The forum’s theme, “ASEAN Matters — Centre of Growth, Opportunities & Prosperity”, was organized by the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific, the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KADIN), the ASEAN Economic Club, and the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. It was supported by the Economic Club of Kuala Lumpur and the World Business Chamber. Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said the creative industry not only contributes to regional GDP but also creates jobs. Uno, who delivered a special address, said that in Indonesia, digital transformation, along with financial assistance to improve information and communication technology infrastructure, have helped boost the creative industry. Education reforms have helped nurture creative talent. Albert Oung, executive council member and Green Economy chairperson of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s Sustainable Business Network, said innovative technological breakthroughs can help revitalize the ASEAN economy in the post-pandemic era. “What we need to do is pick the right projects with the right formula and make it ASEAN,” Oung said in an interview held on the sidelines of the forum. Ravindra Ngo, founder and CEO of Singapore-based think tank The Asian Network, said cooperation is one of the main themes of the forum. Ngo, who moderated the afternoon discussion on food security and climate sustainability, summed up one of the key points of the discussion: that stakeholders — including government, business and civil society — must collaborate to promote sustainable policies and practices to mitigate environmental risk and improve access for all. “The three Ps — people, planet and profit — are not enough. We need to add purpose — the purpose to make and contribute to a better world,” Ngo said. He said ASEAN also needs to use technologies and innovations, such as developing a climate-smart agriculture, that will help to make the shift towards agricultural and food systems that are “more resilient, sustainable and productive”. Gavin Chong, president and chief strategy officer of agribusiness firm Gokomodo Indonesia, said the agriculture industry needs long-term solutions. One way to promote a sustainable agriculture sector is to make farming profitable, which would encourage the younger generations to venture into farming. “How can we address that? Let's talk about prices on a monthly basis. Perhaps different associations representing various countries in ASEAN could have a dialogue on a monthly basis to talk about fertilizer prices as one example. Stay in touch on talking about price trends,” Chong said. Joseph D’ Cruz, CEO of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, said discussions on agricultural sustainability must include diverse perspectives. In the case of the palm oil industry, D’ Cruz said that the challenge is how to build a sector that meets the demands of climate, sustainability and environmental preservation without sacrificing social development, livelihoods and providing a decent life for rural communities. He added that addressing these concerns also requires that addressing the challenge of providing food that is affordable and sustainable. “It's not an easy question to answer, but I think if we come back to the policy questions we're discussing around food security and climate change and where ASEAN goes in the future, recognizing the need to build a way to look at these realistically from a systems perspective is absolutely critical,” he said. Chhem Siriwat, an advisor for the Council for the Development of Cambodia, said in a panel discussion that digital transformation “is not just about technology, but it’s about change. It’s about a change in mindset, which will lead eventually to a change in behavior”. He said the three main pillars of digital transformation are culture, workforce and technology, and described his experience in helping to craft a national digital technology transformation roadmap for Cambodia. “We came up with three suggestions, the first being to appoint transformational leaders; to be a transformational leader, you have to be innovative, risk-taking,” he said. He added that it’s also important to invest in human resources and digital infrastructure. Yohanes Lukiman, chairperson of KADIN’s Permanente Committee for Asia Pacific, said digital transformation can also support small and medium-sized enterprises, especially those in the informal economy. Lukiman, who is also the board member of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC), said ABAC is promoting the use of QR codes as an alternative payment system. “We know that there’s a huge informal economy in ASEAN and we also know that those in the informal economy can’t be paid by (conventional) digital means,” he said. The QR code program “will be a game changer in the digital economy,” Lukiman said. “An Indonesian tourist can go to Pattaya (in Thailand) and buy food from a roadside vendor using his Indonesian e-wallet. MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) in the informal economy can adopt this QR code,” he said.
2023-05-13Emerging as a new growth center of world economy, Southeast Asia has to enhance connectivity and joint action to overcome challenges including post-pandemic recovery, geopolitical tension, climate change and digital disruption, according to participants in a regional forum held on May 12. Arsjad Rasjid, chairperson of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), said the ASEAN economy has a “growing impact on global trade”. With a steady rise in GDP for the past few years, ASEAN is now the world's fifth largest economy and the fourth largest exporting region, Rasjid said in his welcome speech at the 2023 ASEAN Leadership and Partnership Forum being held in Jakarta. This has “major implications” on the future of investment inflows and resilience of the global supply chain. “ASEAN is no longer a regional power which sits on the sidelines of the global economy,” Rasjid said, alluding to this year’s theme of the ASEAN summit. ASEAN countries are “broadly regarded as the future base of global production and consumption, or as (the Indonesian) government has defined it, as a new epicenter of growth.” Indonesia is this year’s rotating chair of the regional bloc. The two-day forum is held after the 42nd ASEAN summit at Labuan Bajo in eastern Indonesia. The forum’s theme “ASEAN Matters — Centre of Growth, Opportunities & Prosperity”, was organized by the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific, ASEAN Business Advisory Council, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KADIN), ASEAN Economic Club, and Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. It was supported by the Economic Club of Kuala Lumpur and the World Business Chamber. Rasjid, who also serves as KADIN’s chairman, said it is in the best interests of ASEAN to approach the future of its development with “a spirit of togetherness, togetherness and cooperation as a solid community”. Michael Yeoh, chairman of the forum and KSI’s president, said in his introductory speech that ASEAN, as an organization, can only remain relevant to the next generation if there is a “greater sense of purpose, a greater sense of belonging to ASEAN”. This is why people to people connectivity needs to be prioritized. He said this can be done through the conduct of more educational and youth exchanges among ASEAN members. Rasjid and Yeoh’s speeches was a prelude to the morning session which focused on ASEAN connectivity. ALSO READ: ASEAN leaders confident in region being 'epicentrum of growth' One of the panel discussants is Kirida Bhaopichitr, director of Economic Intelligence Service at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). Kirida said climate change, increasing US-China competition and how artificial intelligence is threatening job security are among the major challenges that the region has to overcome. She said connectivity and collaboration will help the region “survive through this perfect storm”. In dealing with geopolitical tension, for example, Kirida said ASEAN needs to focus on building a resilient supply chain in the region that will make ASEAN a “very attractive” investment destination. She also cited climate change, and how this is “not an individual country issue”. “When there’s forest fire in Indonesia, it affects all the way to Singapore (and) Thailand,” Kirida said, alluding to trans-boundary haze. “If we don’t collaborate to mitigate and adapt to climate change… I don't think we will survive very long.” Kirida said AI is “very disruptive… How can we improve our skills and our technology together in order to weather the storm? I don't think any one country can do that. We don't have enough resources. We just want to contribute more resources together. This kind of connectivity will make us go forward”. Kunihiko Hirabayashi, secretary general of the ASEAN-Japan Centre, said building trust, transparency and co-creation are key to “people-centered collaboration”. He said climate change and environmental degeneration, for example, can’t be resolved by a single country. But by working together, ASEAN and its partner countries can find an “actionable solution”. Lee Sheung Yuen, director general of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta, discussed the close relationship between the special administrative region and ASEAN, having been major trading partners for the last 12 years. Hong Kong and ASEAN also have an existing economic and technology cooperation program. Lee said Hong Kong hopes to contribute more in the partnership with ASEAN through its financial, professional services, logistics and transportation sectors. Delia Albert, former Philippine secretary of foreign affairs, has recalled an old report which stated that the concept of ASEAN as a community only exists among academics, journalists and those who participate in ASEAN-related activities. Albert said the idea of a “shared values toward a shared destiny remains to be a wish to be fulfilled. That is the greatest challenge that ASEAN faces”.
2023-05-12Hong Kong’s Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Friday highlighted the importance of striking a balance between fintech innovation and risk mitigation in financial regulations to ensure a sustainable ecosystem. Chan delivered a speech on the second day of the annual Digital Economy Summit, which was organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and Cyberport. “A healthy, sustainable ecosystem must have a strong immune system — that is, the ability to weed out the bad players, and insulate our financial system and stability from undue impact,” the finance chief noted. “The crux to this is whether we could apply balanced, proportionate regulation that will properly and adequately mitigate pertinent risks, while leaving sufficient room for innovative products and services to break new ground,” he added. Chan voiced confidence in the city's fintech sector, citing the significant surge in the number of fintech enterprises as proof of its growth. The number of fintech firms in the financial hub increased from 180 to more than 800 this year in five-year period, offering innovative services including mobile payments, cross-border transfers, virtual asset trading and blockchain. He said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong has continued to attract world-class talent and entrepreneurs to make the city their home, solidifying the city’s position as a “vibrant fintech ecosystem”. Chan said the proactive approach taken by the government and public sector to spur fintech development includes seed funding programs, investor matching, incubation, and professional support services for fintech startups. These efforts have created an environment in which fintech innovation can flourish, he added. The SAR government, in its 2023-24 Budget, allocated more than HK$700 million ($89.2 million) to accelerate the development of the digital economy, along with over HK$9 million for a series of international initiatives. The two-day summit, themed “Emerging with resilience: Fostering a smarter future”, aims to bring together entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics worldwide to share their insights on topics such as smart cities, data innovation, fintech, Web3, artificial intelligence and big data, smart mobility, as well as new industrialization.
2023-04-14The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is gearing up to embrace the digital economy with the support of national strategies and billions of dollars in funding, officials and technology pundits said on Thursday. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said during the opening ceremony of the Digital Economy Summit that “We are now to start a new chapter of the digital economy.” The two-day event, themed “Emerging with resilience: Fostering a smarter future”, aims to bring together entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics worldwide to share their insights on topics such as smart cities, data innovation, fintech, Web3, artificial intelligence and big data, smart mobility, as well as new industrialization. Lee struck an optimistic tone about the city’s transition to a digital economy, citing its advantageous geographical location and support from national strategies. “Under the unique principle of ‘one country, two systems’, Hong Kong enjoys the unparalleled advantage of having the strong support of national strategies while being connected with the rest of the world,” Lee said. Lee also noted that the national 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are expected to elevate the city’s status as an international innovation hub. He said the widespread adoption of digital technologies had transformed traditional ways of conducting business during the COVID-19 pandemic. “From e-commerce and online education to remote work and smart city innovations, … the digital economy offers a way forward for businesses and individuals, providing opportunities for growth and proceeding in the face of uncertainties,” he said. The SAR government, in its 2023-24 Budget, allocated more than HK$700 million ($89.2 million) to accelerate the development of the digital economy, along with over HK$9 million for a series of international initiatives. Cao Shumin, deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, said in his opening remarks that the digital economy has become an important engine for high-quality development with the advancement of the Greater Bay Area. She said Hong Kong needs to speed up construction of its data center and the intelligent transformation of traditional infrastructure, unleashing the commercial potential of data. “Hong Kong should fully leverage the advantages of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle” to help create an internationally competitive digital industry cluster for the Greater Bay Area, she added. Chen Dong, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said Hong Kong demonstrated its potential for developing the digital economy with the establishment of the Institute of Web 3.0 Hong Kong, the opening of the first InnoEX, and the ongoing summit. What’s more, Hong Kong’s Top Talent Pass Scheme — offering fast-track employment visas for individuals with outstanding educational backgrounds, or those drawing high salaries — received approximately 5,800 global applications in the two weeks after its launch, highlighting the city’s appeal to international talent, he said. The annual summit was organized by the Hong Kong SAR government and Cyberport. Sun Dong, secretary for innovation, technology and industry; and Duncan Chiu, a lawmaker from the Information Technology functional constituency in the Legislative Council; attended the opening ceremony.
2023-04-14Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu struck an optimistic tone about the city's transition to a digital economy, citing its advantageous geographical location and support from national strategies. “We are now to start a new chapter of the digital economy,” the city’s leader said on Thursday during the opening ceremony of the two-day Digital Economy Summit. The financial hub is transforming in line with the central government's ambition to increase the nation's scientific and technological capabilities. Lee noted that President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of innovation in the country's development strategy during last month's 14th National People's Congress in Beijing. “Under the unique principle of ‘one country, two systems’, Hong Kong enjoys the unparalleled advantage of having the strong support of national strategies while being connected with the rest of the world,” Lee said. He also noted that Hong Kong’s digital economy development is supported by the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which are expected to help the city become an international innovation center. Lee highlighted that the widespread adoption of digital technologies had transformed traditional ways of conducting business during the COVID-19 pandemic. “From e-commerce and online education to remote work and smart city innovations, … the digital economy offers a way forward for businesses and individuals, providing opportunities for growth and proceeding in the face of uncertainties,” he said. Lee noted the summit is the first in-person mega event in the field of innovation and technology organized by the local government since the financial hub reconnected to the world after the pandemic. The annual event, organized by the Hong Kong government and Cyberport, aims to bring together entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics to share their insights on topics such as smart cities, data innovation, fintech, Web 3.0, artificial intelligence and big data, smart mobility, as well as new industrialization. Sun Dong, secretary for innovation, technology and industry; Cao Shumin, deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China; and Chen Dong, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region attended the kickoff ceremony.
2023-04-13The Hong Kong International Film Festival opened Thursday with a grisly swath of Hong Kong noir. Soi Cheang’s Mad Fate begins — appropriately enough — in a cemetery. A frantic fortune teller, the Master (Gordon Lam), fakes the death of a client in an effort to ward off an evil that is shadowing her, and thereby saves her life. He might not be very good at his job, and gets easily distracted by a thunderstorm. Needless to say, things don’t go according to plan, and the client indeed winds up dead. Madness and fate are the opposing elements in Cheang’s latest outing — elements that, whether real or imagined, can have a significant impact on one’s life. Once again diving into the grottier, less glitzy side of Hong Kong and the people flailing in its darkest corners, Cheang and screenwriter Yau Nai-hoi (2003’s Running on Karma; 2004’s Throw Down) have crafted a grimy examination of mental health, faith, and the impact each can have on personal agency. After predicting that psychotic food deliverer Siu-tung (boy-bandMirror’s Lokman Yeung, cast way against type), a kid with a history of violence, is on the verge of committing murder — and having so spectacularly failed his last client — the Master sets out to cure the young man’s impulses with feng shui and talismans. This is the tip of the iceberg, as there is an actual serial killer running around Causeway Bay murdering prostitutes (also returning is Cheang’s narrative reliance on violence against women). It goes without saying that whether due to destiny, chance, psychiatry or detective work, their three roads eventually intersect in a glorious, bloody clash. Cheang reunites with his Limbo (2021) star in what could be seen as a continuation of the self-destructive obsession of Lam’s detective character in that film, this time for a more-internalized struggle with his own sanity. The plot is as twisted and confused as the minds of the Master and Siu-tung, in a way that only Yau can pull off, and which slowly but surely unwinds and resolves itself into a final moment of lucidity. As always, Cheang masterfully exploits Hong Kong’s claustrophobic, humid spaces (Mad Fate feels sticky) to make the cityscape part of the story. The terrain drives the madness, and also provides the final clarity everyone seeks. In a change of pace, Mad Fate has moments of humor — dark humor — that feel new to Cheang’s work, and, given the seriousness of the main story, will either clang or prove a welcome respite from its perpetual misery.
2023-04-02Soi Cheang is in many respects a giant of the Hong Kong film industry, but in just as many ways he’s one of its most overlooked players. That may change in the coming weeks, thanks to his latest film, Mad Fate, which opened the 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) on Thursday. Cheang is the festival’s Filmmaker-in-Focus this year. “He’s a key figure among Hong Kong’s post-1997 generation of filmmakers and notable for his somber but unmistakably personal visual style,” says HKIFF’s executive director, Albert Lee. A genre filmmaker in the truest sense of the word, Cheang has made crime thrillers, horror, fantasy and noir. He is known to film buffs and industry pros as one of Hong Kong cinema’s great bleak-chic stylists. “In the stark dystopia he creates, where one confronts moral bleakness and human perseverance, Soi never fails to detect a ray of hope,” adds Lee. Born in Macao and a resident of Hong Kong since the age of 11, Cheang started working in cinema at 19. In the early 1990s, would-be filmmakers in Hong Kong trained either at TVB or the Academy for Performing Arts. Cheang went his own way, teaching himself the trade and managing to convince titans such as Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs, 2002), Ringo Lam (1987’s City on Fire), and Johnnie To (Exiled, 2006; Drug War, 2012) at Milkyway Image to take him on as a production assistant. Later, he would serve as the first assistant director to some of them. In a case of coming full circle, Milkyway had a hand in producing Mad Fate. “(To) is a great master. Whenever I go back to Milkyway, it’s like … taking a one-year course to learn, or relearn, what filmmaking is,” says Cheang. “Maybe one day I’ll get to his level. Maybe never. But I can aspire to it.” Cheang’s first significant release, Diamond Hill, came in 2000. An unconventional romance set inside the rapidly transforming old district, it announced Cheang as a filmmaker unafraid to go down narrative paths many would avoid. But with Dog Bite Dog (2006), Cheang started to cement a visual language and hallmark themes and motifs that would become his signature. The constant push-and-pull between fate and free will, faith and reason, essentially light and dark, informs his films, binding them into a single, cohesive whole. Corruption and decay became Cheang’s guiding motifs, even when they didn’t seem like the obvious choice. The cop on the trail of a hitman in Dog is to be expected, but it’s in this film that the line between the good guy and bad guy was blurred forever. The same can be said of the martial artist in prison for murder and the fellow inmate who trains him in Shamo (2007), a brutal twist on the sports movie; of Love Battlefield (2004), arguably one of Hong Kong’s most nihilistic love stories ever; and of SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015), a sprawling, sweaty martial actioner that stitches together family bonds in a criminal underworld and then proceeds to rip them apart. Violence is never far away in Cheang’s films — something he’s quick to admit — but as Lee noted, redemption is right behind. Cheang’s grisly, grimy peak came with 2021’s Limbo, whose stark black-and-white absorbs its characters, removing any distinction between human beings and the filth around them. “I think the violence (in the film) was necessary because the whole story is about atonement,” argues the director. “It’s a process, and it’s about going from one hell to another, where the other person may not want to forgive your transgressions. Without the violence, that process has no meaning.” In more full circles, Cheang is also one of the local industry’s great mentors, producing films for emerging filmmakers such as Wong Hing-fan (2019’s i’m livin’ it) and Lau Kok-rui (The Sunny Side of the Street, 2022). Next up is an adaptation of comic artist Andy Seto’s City of Darkness — starring Louis Koo. It’s a kung fu actioner set in the 1980s inside the now-mythic Kowloon Walled City. “Everyone talks about the Walled City as if it were a crime-ridden hellhole, but in the ’80s, it was a different space. It provided people who were working in industries just outside the lines with a way to make a living,” says Cheang. “This was also a really significant moment in Hong Kong — 1984. After that, the Walled City no longer had value. It’s an interesting moment,” he says. After a pause, he adds, “And besides that, I want to make one of those exaggerated, martial arts movies.” Also on the Filmmaker-in-Focus program are Our Last Day (1999), Horror Hotline… Big Head Monster (2001), New Blood (2002), Home Sweet Home (2005), Accident (2009), Motorway (2012), and an audience face-to-face following a screening of Limbo on April 8.
2023-04-01Tourism can enjoy a better future if the sector integrates more deeply with culture and the arts, and blends virtual and physical travel experiences through digitalization, cultural experts and business leaders said at the Global Tourism Economy Forum on Friday. “Culture and art are a universal language for humanity and play a significant role in international dialogue and exchange of civilizations,” said Wang Bo, chairman of Poly Culture Group Corp, a Chinese arts company. “Through innovative initiatives in cultural tourism, film, music, sports, and other specialized sectors, countries benefit from (their) rich cultural heritage, which contributes to their economic development,” he added. The development of the cultural industry is closely tied to market-driven forces. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the sector can generate an annual revenue of $2.25 trillion and provide nearly 30 million jobs. “We believe that the cultural industry plays a crucial role in promoting mutual exchange and development of civilizations,” Wang said, adding that more efforts should be made to integrate tourism with culture and the arts, which can serve as an intrinsic driving force for tourism. Wang Yuegong, deputy director of the Palace Museum, said technological applications not only make the preservation of relics more efficient but also help boost the cultural tourism sector. The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, was China's imperial palace from 1420 to 1911. It houses over 1.86 million cultural relics. As one of the country’s first museums to adopt innovative technologies, the Palace Museum has rolled out digital presentations of its collections and services, including online tours. Wang said online cultural tourism enables people to visit attractions from their own home, but it doesn’t lead to a drop in the number of tourists who visit in person. “In fact, after seeing the Palace Museum online, it actually motivates people to come and visit it. This can be seen as a catalyzer for tourism,” he added. Tomaso Radaelli, chairman of Italy-based exhibitor MondoMostre, said promoting the cultural industries still requires collaborative efforts to overcome difficulties in cultural sensitivities and art preservation. “It's difficult, because sometimes there’s an issue (concerning) cultural sensitivities which you have to respect. Not every culture has the same set of values or understanding of those values,” Radaelli said. He added that art is “delicate” and “fragile”, that it needs to be insured, and that moving and preserving it requires a lot of money. “If anything happens to a piece of work, nothing is going to replace it,” he said. Pino Sagliocco, chairman of live entertainment company Live Nations Spain, said music is a harmonized force between people, and it is essential for the tourism sector to tap into music as a means to bring people from different nations together. Describing music as a driving force for young people, Sagliocco said millions of people today travel to different cities and come together for a variety of musical events and shows worldwide, and this helps increase sales at local restaurants, hotels and museums.
2023-09-22Tourism and its related industries are playing an important part in economic recovery in the post-pandemic world, officials, business leaders, and experts worldwide said on Thursday at a high-profile tourism forum in Macao. The Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) is a leading international exchange platform designed to promote the sustainable development of global tourism. Themed “Destination 2030: Unlocking the Power of Tourism for Business and Development” this year, the forum features an array of panel sessions, keynote speeches, fireside chats, and special interviews. The four-day forum is hosted by the Secretariat of Economy and Finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region government, in collaboration with the Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. The opening ceremony started with a keynote speech by the forum’s chairman, Ho Hau-wah, who is also a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top political advisory body. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said the forum is set to be the premier platform for cooperation between public and private sectors. “Today, we shape the course of the sectors’ future around the pillars of jobs, education, innovation and investments,” the UN official said. Lei Wai-nong, secretary for economy and finance of the Macao SAR and executive chairman of the forum, said Macao has become one of the core platforms for its prime assets such as tourism under the advantages of “one country, two systems”. New strategic work has been put into building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he noted. “Every year, the Macao SAR government collaborates with GTERC to come up with a forward-thinking theme for the forum in line with the latest situation and to produce an innovative format and program,” Lei added. “After a decade of hard work, the Macao SAR government has developed GTEF into a major event for the international tourism industry and a signature brand of Macao,” he added. Strengthening cooperation Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche said Italy and China are continuing to work together, not just in terms of tourism, but also in culture and other areas. Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, is this year’s partner country at GTEF. “Our two peoples are closer to each other than ever,” she said. “Italy is one of the favorite tourist destinations for Chinese tourists. After a three-year absence, Chinese tourists are coming back.” China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has included GTEF in the Sino-Italian Cultural Exchange Mechanism to consolidate mutual learning between Chinese and foreign cultures. Qiu Xiaoping, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said this year marks the 10th anniversary of the GTEF and is an important year of rapid recovery following the pandemic. Tourism still faces many challenges, he said, “but we can see the industry has a unique advantage and also it can help mold employment and enrich people’s spirits. “It actually has become a very important driving force after the pandemic,” Qiu said. Shanghai, which was designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Design in 2010, is the featured city of this year’s GTEF. Shanghai Vice-Mayor Liu Duo said Shanghai is on the path to unlock the potential of tourism for business and development and to promote the prosperity of tourism around the globe. “Shanghai has been tapping into its rich resources to develop its culture and tourism events. “We want to build channels through which we could talk to other countries and empower the development of our economy,” Liu said.
2023-09-22It’s important to adopt policies and strategies that pursue growth and sustainable development simultaneously in order to build a better tourism sector, said analysts at a panel in Macao. Celso Sabino de Oliveira, minister of tourism of Brazil, said the most important task for the tourism industry is to strike a balance between sustainable development and economic value. He made the remarks at the Global Tourism Economy Forum 2023 in an auditorium packed with industry luminaries and veteran investors from across the globe during a session focused on the future of tourism. “Tourism is more than hospitality; (it is also about) how to make good use of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions and thus protect our environment amid global warming,” de Oliveira said. But when people are protecting natural resources such as forests and rivers, it’s equally important to protect the indigenous peoples who live in those areas by offering them the same economic opportunities that residents enjoy in large cities, de Oliveira said. “We can’t put nature conservation and economic development at odds. They need to be balanced,” he added. Daniela Santanche, Italy’s minister of tourism, said sustainable tourism involves a vast array of factors including climate, the younger generation and digitization, which require more strategic planning with closer cooperation. “Making tourism sustainable can’t just be imagined. Things like culture and society are also important. It’s a team challenge for human beings,” Santanche said. She added more focus on tourism should be featured in governments’ financial budgets today to attract young people back to the sector, as many of them left during the pandemic and new opportunities are emerging, ready to be seized. Natalia Bayona, executive director of the World Tourism Organization, said education should offer young people a path into tourism, as manpower is a prerequisite for sustainable growth. According to Bayona, around 60 percent of investments in tourism go into infrastructure, but more investment should be made in people to equip the sector with the right workforce to survive and thus create a future. “We can’t be sustainable if we don’t have enough people,” she said, adding that more efforts should be made to build a strong academic community and improve online education to show young people the future while they are at school, thereby building confidence in the sector once again. Nicolas de Villiers, president and artistic director of French theme park Puy du Fou, stressed the importance of cultural roots and identities in the tourism sector. He said that globalization was expected to bring happiness to everyone, but in reality, that didn’t turn out to be the case. He said that, globally, we are going back to a world or an era in which people feel safest within their national contexts. People need to have roots within their own national communities, he added. “This is why I believe that our concept will work in the future because we are making some parks that are really rooted in the history and heritage of the countries where we go, especially in Spain or France.” According to de Villiers, his company is aiming to set up some parks, in the next country they work in, focusing on the pride of the national community. Joining the high-profile session were Rosana Morillo, vice-minister of Tourism of Spain; Nuno Fazenda, secretary of state for Tourism, Trade and Services of Portugal; and Paolo Barletta, CEO of Italy-based Arsenale SPA Company. Xu Weiwei contributed to the story. evanliu@chinadailyhk.com
2023-09-22Having borne fruit in boosting its international profile and promoting tourism development over the past decade, the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) is poised to play a more crucial role in driving the sector’s innovative growth, according to experts at the high-profile tourism gathering’s closing ceremony in Macao on Friday. “The forum has successfully completed a decade, and its significance is remarkable,” Lei Wai-nong, secretary for economy and finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region government and executive chairman of the GTEF, said in his closing remarks. “Echoing the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, we encourage thinking beyond tourism and are ready to foster more open and new cooperation within the sector,” Lei said. The 10th edition of the GTEF, which kicked off in Macao on Wednesday, featured top officials, ministers of culture and tourism, business luminaries and scholars from 38 countries and regions, as well as representatives from 84 Chinese mainland provincial-level areas and cities. The forum also witnessed the second GTEF Investment and Financing Conference, which has facilitated fruitful exchanges within the tourism industry. “It also provided valuable insights on how Macao can establish an internationally aligned financial system, explore new paths for financial support in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and develop a modern financial industry that chimes well with the principles of moderate economic diversification,” Lei said. “These discussions and insights hold significant opportunities and value for Macao’s economic development,” he added. Pansy Ho Chiu-king, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the GTEF, said the forum has been actively utilizing innovative approaches to drive continuous progress and enhance its influence while staying true to the original intention and steadfastly upholding the forum’s mission and core values. According to Ho, the establishment of the forum in Macao serves a dual purpose. On one hand, it capitalizes on Macao’s unique advantages under the “one country, two systems” principle, particularly its high degree of internationalization. This facilitates the introduction of foreign industries and investments. On the other hand, the forum dovetails with Macao’s ambition to diversify its economy. For decades, Macao has been known as the world’s gaming hub. In 2021, the gaming industry contributed around half of the city’s GDP, employing one-fifth of the city’s workforce. Today, more focus is being put on innovation and technology, cultural tourism, traditional Chinese medicine, and conventions and exhibitions, according to Ho. Ho also emphasized China’s role as a leader in the global tourism industry in her speech, saying the country will unleash its immense potential, from the tourism revolution to industry integration and sustainable development. “As an international forum that originated in China, we have brought the global tourism industry into the country over the past 10 years.” “In the next 10 years, we will expand the forum’s footprint, elevating the discourse and influence of the Chinese tourism industry on the international stage by continuing to offer an inclusive and equitable platform for stakeholders worldwide and fostering new thinking in the global tourism industry,” she said.
2023-09-22Innovation and technology have turbocharged the tourism sector’s sustainable growth, with development potential in emerging markets, the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao heard on Wednesday. The remarks were made by industry luminaries at the four-day conference being held in the special administrative region from Wednesday to Saturday. Miao Muyang, director-general of the Industrial Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said there are promising investment prospects in China’s tourism business, given its expanding market size and diverse industry landscape. “The Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of the tourism sector. President Xi Jinping has emphasized the significance of the sector on numerous occasions, highlighting that tourism serves as a primary channel for cultural exchange and collaboration among different nations, as well as an effective means to promote economic growth, create employment opportunities, and improve people’s living standards,” he said in a keynote speech at the Investment and Financing Conference, held in conjunction with the forum. The conference was attended by senior officials and veteran investors from around the world. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the added value of the nation’s tourism sector had gone up from 2.7 trillion yuan ($370.47 billion) in 2014 to 4.5 trillion yuan in 2021, at an annual growth rate of 4.99 percent. In 2019, the volume of domestic tourism reached more than 6 billion people, and total tourism revenue amounted to 6.63 trillion yuan. “It can be said that the tourism industry has played a significant role in empowering economic and social development and meeting people’s expectations for a better life,” Miao said. He expects the industry to keep up with emerging trends, such as digitalization and green development. In her opening address, Natalia Bayona, executive director of the World Tourism Organization, said the Asia-Pacific region saw rapid growth in greenfield foreign direct investment in the tourism sector between 2018 and 2022, with $65.1 billion poured into 517 investment promotion projects. Also, emerging destinations are gaining traction in attracting investments, she noted. Bayona said the Chinese mainland has been at the forefront of technological advancement in the tourism industry, with mainland companies making significant contributions to global investment in innovation and technology. She urged global stakeholders to leverage I&T to promote tourism’s high-quality development. Wang Xinjun, president and CEO of mainland-based Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting, said he hopes the conference will serve as an international platform for government institutions, tourism enterprises, and organizations to communicate and collaborate for investment partnerships and business opportunities. In a separate session themed “Redefining tourism investments: From private equity to venture capital acceleration”, Inge Huijbrechts, global senior vice-president of Radisson Hotel Group, said the current economic uncertainties, coupled with inflationary pressures, have made it increasingly challenging to secure funds for new projects. Consequently, the Radisson Hotel Group is seeking flexibility and conversion solutions, and exploring opportunities for repurposing office spaces into hotels and multifunctional developments across its various brands. Agreeing that the financial market’s stability is a major problem confronting the global tourism business, Dawood Al Shezawi, president of the United Arab Emirates-based Annual Investment Meeting, said technology and creativity are key to accelerating the sector’s growth in a high interest-rate environment. The dramatic reversal from near-zero interest rates led the global venture capital ecosystem to a sharp pullback in 2022. Global venture funding slumped 35 percent year-on-year to $415.1 billion last year, with tourism startups hard hit, according to data from CN Insights. Al Shezawi said the tourism sector needs to come up with more creative ideas and events for promotion as they can spark wide discussions and get more businesses and people involved. The conference also shed light on the lucrative business opportunities brought by the Chinese mainland’s tourism policies, which encourage collaboration between the industry and the technology, health, wellness, culture and creativity sectors. The 10th edition of the GTEF opened on Wednesday, bringing together government officials and business leaders in sharing their insights into ways of overcoming the challenges facing tourism in the post-pandemic era, and in seeking the sector’s sustainable growth. Established in 2012, the forum is hosted by the Macao Special Administrative Region government, in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
2023-09-21Technology and innovation can help Southeast Asian economies to promote food security, green development and social equity, experts said at a regional forum held May 12 in Jakarta. Participants in the 2023 ASEAN Leadership and Partnership Forum also stressed the need for collaboration among various stakeholders across the region in addressing pressing issues. The two-day forum was held after the 42nd ASEAN summit at Labuan Bajo in eastern Indonesia. The forum’s theme, “ASEAN Matters — Centre of Growth, Opportunities & Prosperity”, was organized by the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific, the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KADIN), the ASEAN Economic Club, and the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. It was supported by the Economic Club of Kuala Lumpur and the World Business Chamber. Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said the creative industry not only contributes to regional GDP but also creates jobs. Uno, who delivered a special address, said that in Indonesia, digital transformation, along with financial assistance to improve information and communication technology infrastructure, have helped boost the creative industry. Education reforms have helped nurture creative talent. Albert Oung, executive council member and Green Economy chairperson of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s Sustainable Business Network, said innovative technological breakthroughs can help revitalize the ASEAN economy in the post-pandemic era. “What we need to do is pick the right projects with the right formula and make it ASEAN,” Oung said in an interview held on the sidelines of the forum. Ravindra Ngo, founder and CEO of Singapore-based think tank The Asian Network, said cooperation is one of the main themes of the forum. Ngo, who moderated the afternoon discussion on food security and climate sustainability, summed up one of the key points of the discussion: that stakeholders — including government, business and civil society — must collaborate to promote sustainable policies and practices to mitigate environmental risk and improve access for all. “The three Ps — people, planet and profit — are not enough. We need to add purpose — the purpose to make and contribute to a better world,” Ngo said. He said ASEAN also needs to use technologies and innovations, such as developing a climate-smart agriculture, that will help to make the shift towards agricultural and food systems that are “more resilient, sustainable and productive”. Gavin Chong, president and chief strategy officer of agribusiness firm Gokomodo Indonesia, said the agriculture industry needs long-term solutions. One way to promote a sustainable agriculture sector is to make farming profitable, which would encourage the younger generations to venture into farming. “How can we address that? Let's talk about prices on a monthly basis. Perhaps different associations representing various countries in ASEAN could have a dialogue on a monthly basis to talk about fertilizer prices as one example. Stay in touch on talking about price trends,” Chong said. Joseph D’ Cruz, CEO of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, said discussions on agricultural sustainability must include diverse perspectives. In the case of the palm oil industry, D’ Cruz said that the challenge is how to build a sector that meets the demands of climate, sustainability and environmental preservation without sacrificing social development, livelihoods and providing a decent life for rural communities. He added that addressing these concerns also requires that addressing the challenge of providing food that is affordable and sustainable. “It's not an easy question to answer, but I think if we come back to the policy questions we're discussing around food security and climate change and where ASEAN goes in the future, recognizing the need to build a way to look at these realistically from a systems perspective is absolutely critical,” he said. Chhem Siriwat, an advisor for the Council for the Development of Cambodia, said in a panel discussion that digital transformation “is not just about technology, but it’s about change. It’s about a change in mindset, which will lead eventually to a change in behavior”. He said the three main pillars of digital transformation are culture, workforce and technology, and described his experience in helping to craft a national digital technology transformation roadmap for Cambodia. “We came up with three suggestions, the first being to appoint transformational leaders; to be a transformational leader, you have to be innovative, risk-taking,” he said. He added that it’s also important to invest in human resources and digital infrastructure. Yohanes Lukiman, chairperson of KADIN’s Permanente Committee for Asia Pacific, said digital transformation can also support small and medium-sized enterprises, especially those in the informal economy. Lukiman, who is also the board member of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC), said ABAC is promoting the use of QR codes as an alternative payment system. “We know that there’s a huge informal economy in ASEAN and we also know that those in the informal economy can’t be paid by (conventional) digital means,” he said. The QR code program “will be a game changer in the digital economy,” Lukiman said. “An Indonesian tourist can go to Pattaya (in Thailand) and buy food from a roadside vendor using his Indonesian e-wallet. MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) in the informal economy can adopt this QR code,” he said.
2023-05-13Emerging as a new growth center of world economy, Southeast Asia has to enhance connectivity and joint action to overcome challenges including post-pandemic recovery, geopolitical tension, climate change and digital disruption, according to participants in a regional forum held on May 12. Arsjad Rasjid, chairperson of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), said the ASEAN economy has a “growing impact on global trade”. With a steady rise in GDP for the past few years, ASEAN is now the world's fifth largest economy and the fourth largest exporting region, Rasjid said in his welcome speech at the 2023 ASEAN Leadership and Partnership Forum being held in Jakarta. This has “major implications” on the future of investment inflows and resilience of the global supply chain. “ASEAN is no longer a regional power which sits on the sidelines of the global economy,” Rasjid said, alluding to this year’s theme of the ASEAN summit. ASEAN countries are “broadly regarded as the future base of global production and consumption, or as (the Indonesian) government has defined it, as a new epicenter of growth.” Indonesia is this year’s rotating chair of the regional bloc. The two-day forum is held after the 42nd ASEAN summit at Labuan Bajo in eastern Indonesia. The forum’s theme “ASEAN Matters — Centre of Growth, Opportunities & Prosperity”, was organized by the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific, ASEAN Business Advisory Council, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KADIN), ASEAN Economic Club, and Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. It was supported by the Economic Club of Kuala Lumpur and the World Business Chamber. Rasjid, who also serves as KADIN’s chairman, said it is in the best interests of ASEAN to approach the future of its development with “a spirit of togetherness, togetherness and cooperation as a solid community”. Michael Yeoh, chairman of the forum and KSI’s president, said in his introductory speech that ASEAN, as an organization, can only remain relevant to the next generation if there is a “greater sense of purpose, a greater sense of belonging to ASEAN”. This is why people to people connectivity needs to be prioritized. He said this can be done through the conduct of more educational and youth exchanges among ASEAN members. Rasjid and Yeoh’s speeches was a prelude to the morning session which focused on ASEAN connectivity. ALSO READ: ASEAN leaders confident in region being 'epicentrum of growth' One of the panel discussants is Kirida Bhaopichitr, director of Economic Intelligence Service at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). Kirida said climate change, increasing US-China competition and how artificial intelligence is threatening job security are among the major challenges that the region has to overcome. She said connectivity and collaboration will help the region “survive through this perfect storm”. In dealing with geopolitical tension, for example, Kirida said ASEAN needs to focus on building a resilient supply chain in the region that will make ASEAN a “very attractive” investment destination. She also cited climate change, and how this is “not an individual country issue”. “When there’s forest fire in Indonesia, it affects all the way to Singapore (and) Thailand,” Kirida said, alluding to trans-boundary haze. “If we don’t collaborate to mitigate and adapt to climate change… I don't think we will survive very long.” Kirida said AI is “very disruptive… How can we improve our skills and our technology together in order to weather the storm? I don't think any one country can do that. We don't have enough resources. We just want to contribute more resources together. This kind of connectivity will make us go forward”. Kunihiko Hirabayashi, secretary general of the ASEAN-Japan Centre, said building trust, transparency and co-creation are key to “people-centered collaboration”. He said climate change and environmental degeneration, for example, can’t be resolved by a single country. But by working together, ASEAN and its partner countries can find an “actionable solution”. Lee Sheung Yuen, director general of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta, discussed the close relationship between the special administrative region and ASEAN, having been major trading partners for the last 12 years. Hong Kong and ASEAN also have an existing economic and technology cooperation program. Lee said Hong Kong hopes to contribute more in the partnership with ASEAN through its financial, professional services, logistics and transportation sectors. Delia Albert, former Philippine secretary of foreign affairs, has recalled an old report which stated that the concept of ASEAN as a community only exists among academics, journalists and those who participate in ASEAN-related activities. Albert said the idea of a “shared values toward a shared destiny remains to be a wish to be fulfilled. That is the greatest challenge that ASEAN faces”.
2023-05-12Hong Kong’s Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Friday highlighted the importance of striking a balance between fintech innovation and risk mitigation in financial regulations to ensure a sustainable ecosystem. Chan delivered a speech on the second day of the annual Digital Economy Summit, which was organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and Cyberport. “A healthy, sustainable ecosystem must have a strong immune system — that is, the ability to weed out the bad players, and insulate our financial system and stability from undue impact,” the finance chief noted. “The crux to this is whether we could apply balanced, proportionate regulation that will properly and adequately mitigate pertinent risks, while leaving sufficient room for innovative products and services to break new ground,” he added. Chan voiced confidence in the city's fintech sector, citing the significant surge in the number of fintech enterprises as proof of its growth. The number of fintech firms in the financial hub increased from 180 to more than 800 this year in five-year period, offering innovative services including mobile payments, cross-border transfers, virtual asset trading and blockchain. He said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong has continued to attract world-class talent and entrepreneurs to make the city their home, solidifying the city’s position as a “vibrant fintech ecosystem”. Chan said the proactive approach taken by the government and public sector to spur fintech development includes seed funding programs, investor matching, incubation, and professional support services for fintech startups. These efforts have created an environment in which fintech innovation can flourish, he added. The SAR government, in its 2023-24 Budget, allocated more than HK$700 million ($89.2 million) to accelerate the development of the digital economy, along with over HK$9 million for a series of international initiatives. The two-day summit, themed “Emerging with resilience: Fostering a smarter future”, aims to bring together entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics worldwide to share their insights on topics such as smart cities, data innovation, fintech, Web3, artificial intelligence and big data, smart mobility, as well as new industrialization.
2023-04-14The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is gearing up to embrace the digital economy with the support of national strategies and billions of dollars in funding, officials and technology pundits said on Thursday. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said during the opening ceremony of the Digital Economy Summit that “We are now to start a new chapter of the digital economy.” The two-day event, themed “Emerging with resilience: Fostering a smarter future”, aims to bring together entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics worldwide to share their insights on topics such as smart cities, data innovation, fintech, Web3, artificial intelligence and big data, smart mobility, as well as new industrialization. Lee struck an optimistic tone about the city’s transition to a digital economy, citing its advantageous geographical location and support from national strategies. “Under the unique principle of ‘one country, two systems’, Hong Kong enjoys the unparalleled advantage of having the strong support of national strategies while being connected with the rest of the world,” Lee said. Lee also noted that the national 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are expected to elevate the city’s status as an international innovation hub. He said the widespread adoption of digital technologies had transformed traditional ways of conducting business during the COVID-19 pandemic. “From e-commerce and online education to remote work and smart city innovations, … the digital economy offers a way forward for businesses and individuals, providing opportunities for growth and proceeding in the face of uncertainties,” he said. The SAR government, in its 2023-24 Budget, allocated more than HK$700 million ($89.2 million) to accelerate the development of the digital economy, along with over HK$9 million for a series of international initiatives. Cao Shumin, deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, said in his opening remarks that the digital economy has become an important engine for high-quality development with the advancement of the Greater Bay Area. She said Hong Kong needs to speed up construction of its data center and the intelligent transformation of traditional infrastructure, unleashing the commercial potential of data. “Hong Kong should fully leverage the advantages of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle” to help create an internationally competitive digital industry cluster for the Greater Bay Area, she added. Chen Dong, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said Hong Kong demonstrated its potential for developing the digital economy with the establishment of the Institute of Web 3.0 Hong Kong, the opening of the first InnoEX, and the ongoing summit. What’s more, Hong Kong’s Top Talent Pass Scheme — offering fast-track employment visas for individuals with outstanding educational backgrounds, or those drawing high salaries — received approximately 5,800 global applications in the two weeks after its launch, highlighting the city’s appeal to international talent, he said. The annual summit was organized by the Hong Kong SAR government and Cyberport. Sun Dong, secretary for innovation, technology and industry; and Duncan Chiu, a lawmaker from the Information Technology functional constituency in the Legislative Council; attended the opening ceremony.
2023-04-14Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu struck an optimistic tone about the city's transition to a digital economy, citing its advantageous geographical location and support from national strategies. “We are now to start a new chapter of the digital economy,” the city’s leader said on Thursday during the opening ceremony of the two-day Digital Economy Summit. The financial hub is transforming in line with the central government's ambition to increase the nation's scientific and technological capabilities. Lee noted that President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of innovation in the country's development strategy during last month's 14th National People's Congress in Beijing. “Under the unique principle of ‘one country, two systems’, Hong Kong enjoys the unparalleled advantage of having the strong support of national strategies while being connected with the rest of the world,” Lee said. He also noted that Hong Kong’s digital economy development is supported by the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which are expected to help the city become an international innovation center. Lee highlighted that the widespread adoption of digital technologies had transformed traditional ways of conducting business during the COVID-19 pandemic. “From e-commerce and online education to remote work and smart city innovations, … the digital economy offers a way forward for businesses and individuals, providing opportunities for growth and proceeding in the face of uncertainties,” he said. Lee noted the summit is the first in-person mega event in the field of innovation and technology organized by the local government since the financial hub reconnected to the world after the pandemic. The annual event, organized by the Hong Kong government and Cyberport, aims to bring together entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics to share their insights on topics such as smart cities, data innovation, fintech, Web 3.0, artificial intelligence and big data, smart mobility, as well as new industrialization. Sun Dong, secretary for innovation, technology and industry; Cao Shumin, deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China; and Chen Dong, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region attended the kickoff ceremony.
2023-04-13The Hong Kong International Film Festival opened Thursday with a grisly swath of Hong Kong noir. Soi Cheang’s Mad Fate begins — appropriately enough — in a cemetery. A frantic fortune teller, the Master (Gordon Lam), fakes the death of a client in an effort to ward off an evil that is shadowing her, and thereby saves her life. He might not be very good at his job, and gets easily distracted by a thunderstorm. Needless to say, things don’t go according to plan, and the client indeed winds up dead. Madness and fate are the opposing elements in Cheang’s latest outing — elements that, whether real or imagined, can have a significant impact on one’s life. Once again diving into the grottier, less glitzy side of Hong Kong and the people flailing in its darkest corners, Cheang and screenwriter Yau Nai-hoi (2003’s Running on Karma; 2004’s Throw Down) have crafted a grimy examination of mental health, faith, and the impact each can have on personal agency. After predicting that psychotic food deliverer Siu-tung (boy-bandMirror’s Lokman Yeung, cast way against type), a kid with a history of violence, is on the verge of committing murder — and having so spectacularly failed his last client — the Master sets out to cure the young man’s impulses with feng shui and talismans. This is the tip of the iceberg, as there is an actual serial killer running around Causeway Bay murdering prostitutes (also returning is Cheang’s narrative reliance on violence against women). It goes without saying that whether due to destiny, chance, psychiatry or detective work, their three roads eventually intersect in a glorious, bloody clash. Cheang reunites with his Limbo (2021) star in what could be seen as a continuation of the self-destructive obsession of Lam’s detective character in that film, this time for a more-internalized struggle with his own sanity. The plot is as twisted and confused as the minds of the Master and Siu-tung, in a way that only Yau can pull off, and which slowly but surely unwinds and resolves itself into a final moment of lucidity. As always, Cheang masterfully exploits Hong Kong’s claustrophobic, humid spaces (Mad Fate feels sticky) to make the cityscape part of the story. The terrain drives the madness, and also provides the final clarity everyone seeks. In a change of pace, Mad Fate has moments of humor — dark humor — that feel new to Cheang’s work, and, given the seriousness of the main story, will either clang or prove a welcome respite from its perpetual misery.
2023-04-02Soi Cheang is in many respects a giant of the Hong Kong film industry, but in just as many ways he’s one of its most overlooked players. That may change in the coming weeks, thanks to his latest film, Mad Fate, which opened the 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) on Thursday. Cheang is the festival’s Filmmaker-in-Focus this year. “He’s a key figure among Hong Kong’s post-1997 generation of filmmakers and notable for his somber but unmistakably personal visual style,” says HKIFF’s executive director, Albert Lee. A genre filmmaker in the truest sense of the word, Cheang has made crime thrillers, horror, fantasy and noir. He is known to film buffs and industry pros as one of Hong Kong cinema’s great bleak-chic stylists. “In the stark dystopia he creates, where one confronts moral bleakness and human perseverance, Soi never fails to detect a ray of hope,” adds Lee. Born in Macao and a resident of Hong Kong since the age of 11, Cheang started working in cinema at 19. In the early 1990s, would-be filmmakers in Hong Kong trained either at TVB or the Academy for Performing Arts. Cheang went his own way, teaching himself the trade and managing to convince titans such as Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs, 2002), Ringo Lam (1987’s City on Fire), and Johnnie To (Exiled, 2006; Drug War, 2012) at Milkyway Image to take him on as a production assistant. Later, he would serve as the first assistant director to some of them. In a case of coming full circle, Milkyway had a hand in producing Mad Fate. “(To) is a great master. Whenever I go back to Milkyway, it’s like … taking a one-year course to learn, or relearn, what filmmaking is,” says Cheang. “Maybe one day I’ll get to his level. Maybe never. But I can aspire to it.” Cheang’s first significant release, Diamond Hill, came in 2000. An unconventional romance set inside the rapidly transforming old district, it announced Cheang as a filmmaker unafraid to go down narrative paths many would avoid. But with Dog Bite Dog (2006), Cheang started to cement a visual language and hallmark themes and motifs that would become his signature. The constant push-and-pull between fate and free will, faith and reason, essentially light and dark, informs his films, binding them into a single, cohesive whole. Corruption and decay became Cheang’s guiding motifs, even when they didn’t seem like the obvious choice. The cop on the trail of a hitman in Dog is to be expected, but it’s in this film that the line between the good guy and bad guy was blurred forever. The same can be said of the martial artist in prison for murder and the fellow inmate who trains him in Shamo (2007), a brutal twist on the sports movie; of Love Battlefield (2004), arguably one of Hong Kong’s most nihilistic love stories ever; and of SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015), a sprawling, sweaty martial actioner that stitches together family bonds in a criminal underworld and then proceeds to rip them apart. Violence is never far away in Cheang’s films — something he’s quick to admit — but as Lee noted, redemption is right behind. Cheang’s grisly, grimy peak came with 2021’s Limbo, whose stark black-and-white absorbs its characters, removing any distinction between human beings and the filth around them. “I think the violence (in the film) was necessary because the whole story is about atonement,” argues the director. “It’s a process, and it’s about going from one hell to another, where the other person may not want to forgive your transgressions. Without the violence, that process has no meaning.” In more full circles, Cheang is also one of the local industry’s great mentors, producing films for emerging filmmakers such as Wong Hing-fan (2019’s i’m livin’ it) and Lau Kok-rui (The Sunny Side of the Street, 2022). Next up is an adaptation of comic artist Andy Seto’s City of Darkness — starring Louis Koo. It’s a kung fu actioner set in the 1980s inside the now-mythic Kowloon Walled City. “Everyone talks about the Walled City as if it were a crime-ridden hellhole, but in the ’80s, it was a different space. It provided people who were working in industries just outside the lines with a way to make a living,” says Cheang. “This was also a really significant moment in Hong Kong — 1984. After that, the Walled City no longer had value. It’s an interesting moment,” he says. After a pause, he adds, “And besides that, I want to make one of those exaggerated, martial arts movies.” Also on the Filmmaker-in-Focus program are Our Last Day (1999), Horror Hotline… Big Head Monster (2001), New Blood (2002), Home Sweet Home (2005), Accident (2009), Motorway (2012), and an audience face-to-face following a screening of Limbo on April 8.
2023-04-01