Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Foundation president Chen Mingxian: Hong Kong plays a crucial role in the globalization of Chinese culture

SHENZHEN, China, May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong, which played a key role in the implementation of China's reform and opening-up policy, has again become an active player in raising global awareness of China's culture and its contribution to world civilization. Chen Mingxian, president of the Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Foundation, said, in line with the One Belt, One Road initiative, the Chinese government's program to strengthen economic ties with the countries that lie along the ancient Silk Road trade routes, Hong Kong has played and continues to play a crucial role in educating the world about Chinese culture.

An international education media organization and an education certification authority, both leaders in their respective fields, establish a footprint in China

The 2017 US-China International Summit on Education Industry and the launch of the CITIC Securities US-China Education Industry Investment Fund was held in Shenzhen on May 12, 2017. Explore China, a Sino-US cultural education platform, was formally set up by the CITIC M&A Fund and a number of leading educational resources providers including Discovery Education. In addition, AdvancED, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that accredits primary and secondary schools throughout the United States and internationally, established a certification facility for Greater China in Shenzhen, marking a milestone in bringing education across the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao up to international standards and in taking a big step in terms of improving the quality of privately-run schools, online education firms and facilities that prepare students for study abroad.

Chen Mingxian is of the opinion that there is an increasing need to promote Chinese culture worldwide as China has one of the richest portfolio of cultural programs, especially in terms of the intangible cultural heritage that is considered the bedrock of Chinese civilization. The launch of the cultural education platform in China gives Discovery Education access to media and educational resources worldwide, facilitating the expansion of Chinese culture beyond the home market and strengthening the promotion of courses featuring Chinese culture in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as in Chinese communities worldwide that meet international standards. The aim is to allow global audiences to have a better understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture. 

The establishment of AdvancED's certification facility for Greater China not only represents the upgrading of Chinese culture courses to globally-accepted credit courses following the international certification of traditional Chinese cultural programs, but also signifies the beginning of the experimentation with, application of and promotion of the courses in the American educational system, leading to the further promotion of traditional Chinese culture across the global education community. Notably, Hong Kong can serve as an important platform for exporting international courses featuring Chinese culture to the world.

With its multiple advantages, Hong Kong can serve as an important platform for expanding Chinese culture education into foreign markets

Chen Mingxian explained that Hong Kong, with its multiple unique advantages and abundant resources, can play a key role in promoting the development and prosperity of Chinese culture and in helping expand Chinese cultural education beyond the home market.

Hong Kong, a region that is, by dint of its history, a successful blend of Chinese and Western culture, has an open economic system and mature legal framework, and is home to a community of culturally sophisticated and talented individuals who are intimately familiar with the market for cultural and educational exchanges and the rules of engagement. In addition to these advantages, the city's cultural industry is famous for its outward looking approach, one that is highly consistent with its core elements – open communication and coordination of policy, unimpeded access, free trade, free movement of money and open communications between the peoples of the world –, all of which are viewpoints advocated by the One Belt, One Road initiative. The strong outward looking approach not only places Hong Kong in an excellent position to serve the initiative, but also effectively supports the city's ongoing economic transformation. Hong Kong is also one of the more ethnically diverse Asian cities. People from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, who have come to Hong Kong from all over the world, have created a cross-cultural relationship network with multidimensional economic benefits, consistently bringing new ideas and creativity into the city. The port city is the platform of choice for Chinese companies seeking to expand abroad, serving as the key intermediary when importing products, services or technologies from abroad as well as when expanding into new countries and markets. Hong Kong's unique multicultural environment combined with its extensive experience allow the city to play an important educational role in the globalization of cultural education as part of the One Belt, One Road initiative.

Hong Kong, one of the major financial centers linking China and the world backed by a mature financial market and an advanced market system, is the most effective channel through which the Chinese cultural education industry can import products, services or technologies from and expand into foreign markets. The city can provide financial support for the export of internationally qualified courses focused on Chinese culture, provide a venue for mainland Chinese cultural education companies who are seeking to go public through its globally-traded stock exchange, and generally assist the companies and their programs in entering international markets more quickly and efficiently.

In addition, Hong Kong has an advanced and mature philanthropy system and is home to thousands of charity organizations and trusts that have made sizeable donations to the cultural education industry. Many well-placed companies and families in the city are quite willing to participate in funding for cultural education. The philanthropic organizations offer substantial public welfare capital and resources support for the globalization of Chinese culture, in line with the One Belt, One Road initiative.

SOURCE Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Foundation