• Land and Housing Review
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.53-56
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• 2014

Hong Kong, a well-known metropolis characterized by skyscrapers on both sides of the Victoria Harbour, consists mainly of 3 parts, namely the Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula and the New Territories (N.T.) which is the land area north of Kowloon plus a number of outlying islands. Located in the N.T. are all the new towns, market towns; and in the plains and valleys lie scattered village houses of not more than 3 storeys within the confines of well-defined village. These village houses are governed by a rural housing policy that could be traced back to the very beginning of the former British administration in the N.T. By the Convention of Peking of 1898, the N.T., comprising the massive land area north of Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and 235 islands, was leased to Britain by China for 99 years from 1st July 1898. Soon after occupation, the colonial government conducted a survey of this uncharted territory from 1899 to 1903, and set up a land court to facilitate all land registration work and to resolve disputed claims. By 1905, the Block Crown Leases with Schedule of Lessees and details of the lots, each with a copy of the lot index plan (Demarcation Plan) were executed. Based on the above, Crown rent rolls were prepared for record and rent collection purposes. All grants of land thereafter are known as New Grant lots. After completion and execution of the Block Crown Lease in 1905, N.T. villagers had to purchase village house lots by means of Restricted Village Auctions; and Building Licences were issued to convert private agricultural land for building purposes but gradually replaced by Land Exchanges (i.e. to surrender agricultural land for the re-grant of building land) from the early 1960's until introduction of the current Small House Policy in October 1972. It was not until the current New Territories Small House Policy came into effect in December 1972 that the Land Authority can make direct grant of government land or approve the conversion of self-owned agricultural land to allow indigenous villagers to build houses within the village environs under concessionary terms. Such houses are currently restricted to 700 square feet in area and three storeys with a maximum height of 27 feet. An indigenous villager is a male descendent of a villager who was the resident of a recognized village already existing in 1898. Each villager is only allowed one concessionary grant in his lifetime. Upon return of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on July 1st, 1997, the traditional rights of indigenous villagers are protected under Article 40 of the Basic Law (a mini-constitution of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). Also all N.T. leases have been extended for 50 years up to 2047. Owing to the escalating demand and spiral landed property prices in recent years, abuse of the N.T. Small House Policy has been reported in some areas and is a concern in some quarters. The Hong Kong Institute of Land Administration attempts to study the history that leads to the current rural housing policy in the New Territories with particular emphasis on the small house policy, hoping that some light can be shed on the "way forward" for such a controversial policy.

• Korean Association of Arts Management
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• no.50
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• pp.101-146
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• 2019

After the enactment of the Local Culture Promotion Act in 2014, the government has been continuously trying to find the direction of the local culture that reflects the local life and conforms to the local people's emotions. In response to these efforts, the Organizing Committee for the C Region Biennale has uniquely formed the Biennale Artistic Director as a local artist who includes the historical, ecological and emotional characteristics of the C region. Therefore, I sought to explore the perception of the identity and role of the local cultural arts director through the narratives of the research participants who were appointed as the local residents of the C region and the director of the Craft Biennale. For the study, six local cultural arts directors were selected as research participants, and their identity as a local cultural arts director and its role were explored, focusing on their narratives. In this process, various types of data such as photographs, documents, in - depth interviews, and conference materials were collected and narrative was analyzed based on deterministic events. The results of the investigation are as follows. The idea of the identity of the local cultural arts directors was found to be in three directions. First, it is the view that the symbolic role of the artistic supervisory system of the 10 persons guarantees the identity. Second, the identity of local cultural arts directors was recognized as a role to find ways to be localized by developing and debating cultural and artistic discourses in various regions. Third, the participants had a concern and affection for local cultural arts, not one-time but continuous, and recognized it as their identity. The directors who participated in the interviews showed that the discourse of cultural arts in various regions were developed and discussed, and they wanted to find ways to be localized. The roles of local cultural arts directors recognized by research participants in connection with their identity are as follows. First, it should be the subject of systematic and long-term planning that can close the year and connect with the art events of the following year. Second, it should play a role of academic / research that can derive the identity of social and cultural ecological analysis connected with the area. Third, local arts professionals are required to act as cultural brokers, ie local culture professionals, who can create a venue for international cultural exchanges. Research on the form of local government supervision as a mediator of local cultural arts is to find out the origin of the identity of local artists and to establish a methodology for the direction of culture and art as a subject of local people. In addition, there is a need for continued interest and research in providing a reflection on the communication and meaning of the desirable local culture, and suggesting the system for cultivating local cultural arts intermediaries.