Singapore and China Move Closer on Cultural Cooperation: Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts Press Release, 5 Dec 2003

Singapore Government Press Release
Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 6837-9666

SINGAPORE AND CHINA
MOVE CLOSER ON CULTURAL COOPERATION

Singapore and China sealed a new three-year Executive Programme (EP) on Cultural Co-operation from 2003-2005. Permanent Secretary of Singapore's Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MITA), Dr Tan Chin Nam, and Director-General of the Bureau of External Cultural Relations of PRC's Ministry of Culture (MOC), Ding Wei, signed the EP agreement on 5 December 2003. Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, and PRC Minister of Culture, Sun Jiazheng, witnessed the signing.

The new EP will cover exchange in the fields of arts, heritage and library. Some highlights of the EP are:

The National Arts Council, Singapore, shall invite at least one Chinese performing arts group to perform in Singapore Arts Festival annually. MOC shall invite one Singapore performing arts group to perform in China annually.

The Singapore Art Museum shall actively explore the bilateral exchange of exhibitions or the joint organisation of a travelling exhibition on contemporary Chinese ink painting and calligraphy with the Guangdong Art Museum, Hangzhou Academy of Arts and Shanghai Art Museum.

Singapore's Asian Civilisations Museum shall organise an exhibition on Bronze Age Chinese archaeological materials with the Sanxingdui Museum in late 2004.

The National Library Board (NLB) shall conduct staff exchanges and attachments, and exchange books & materials with National Library of China (NLC) & Shanghai Library (SL). NLB shall enlist the NLC’s & SL’s assistance in acquisition of Chinese information materials.

This cultural visit to China is part of the cultural officials' exchange programme under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cultural Co-operation between MITA and MOC signed in 1996. MITA and MOC had broadly agreed to exchange talents for performances, exhibitions, attachments, and training, and participate in each other's cultural events; jointly organise or exchange exhibitions on cultural relics, history and fine arts; and exchange information and share with each other's library resources and expertise.

The MOU is a milestone in the warm ties between MITA and MOC and the commitment to broaden and deepen exchange for the long term. It also provided a formal framework to strengthen the current state of exchange. Two EPs (1997-1999 & 2000-2002) have been signed to operationalise the MOU.

Some notable developments include the National Library of China providing a list of suitable forthcoming titles for NLB's selection fortnightly via email since 1999 and Singapore's Toy Factory Theatre Ensemble performing Ti Tou Dao in Beijing, Shanghai & Hangzhou at the 5th Asian Arts Festival in 2002.

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS
5 December 2003

Contact person in China: Ms Ngiam Shing Shian
Corporate Communications Officer
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
DID: (65) 6837 9838
HP: 9620 9561
Fax: (65) 6837 9837
E-mail: ngiam_shing_shian@mita.gov.sg

Contact person in Singapore: Ms Tham Siok Fun
Senior Corporate Communications Officer
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
DID: (65) 6837 9841
HP: 9823 3803
Fax: (65) 6837 9837
E-mail: tham_siok_ fun@mita.gov.sg