The chief secretary will chair the board of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) Authority, which will be responsible for the planning and operation of the district's arts and cultural facilities.

The board - the authority's governing body - will also comprise 18 members from the government and the arts, cultural, professional and business sectors.

The government announced these appointments that were all made by the chief executive yesterday.

Apart from Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang, the board has three other public officer members - Secretary for Home Affairs, Secretary for Development, and Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.

The chief executive has appointed 15 non-public members to the board, the maximum number that the board is allowed to have under the WKCD Authority Ordinance.

Six of the 15 non-public members are from the arts sector, including conductor Yip Wing-sie and Yuko Hasegawa, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo.

The rest of the board members are from different fields, like legislators Jeffrey Lam and Paul Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Ronald Arculli and chairman of Ocean Park Allan Zeman.

"I am deeply honored to be appointed as chairman of the board," said Tang of his appointment as chairman of the authority's board.

He said that over the last year he has been engaged in the preparatory work of the WKCD project, which is an important art and culture project in Hong Kong.

He said he is aware of the community's expectations to see the project's early implementation, and he fully understands the immense challenges and responsibility as chairman of the board.

He added that he looks forward to working closely with members of the board.

One of the board members, legislator representing the industry sector Jeffrey Lam, said he felt honored for the appointment.

There is already an initial plan for the WKCD project but he said the authority should put together a blueprint and consult all sectors as soon as possible.

Another board member, qualified accountant representing the accounting sector Paul Chan, said he hopes he could contribute to the board's financial management and stressed that he will listen to the view of other legislators on the WKCD project.

He added that he hopes to see the authority promote corporate governance and keep its operation transparent and accountable to the public.

At a press briefing, Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Carrie Yau said all board members are required to declare any relevant interests.

"This is to avoid potential conflict of interest and to defuse speculations of government-business collusion," she said.

All the board members have rich experience in public administration and international connections, she reiterated.

She added that appointing the chief secretary as the board's chairman can give the public more confidence in the board especially when the WKCD project is in the start-up stage.

The board members will have their first meeting next week.

(HK Edition 10/24/2008 page1)