In 2003, UNESCO introduced a new international instrument: The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Intangible cultural heritage refers to social practices, languages, beliefs, festivals, oral traditions, and culinary customs. In 2004, the government of the People's Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) both agreed to be part of the Convention and implement its decrees. Building on the case of China's and Hong Kong's participation in the Convention, this article contributes to the understanding of cultural heritage governance in Hong Kong by focusing on intergovernmental relations. Three dimensions are explored. First, we try to situate the nature of Hong Kong's intergovernmental cultural governance by comparing it against a number of cases in Europe and North America. Second, we focus on the development of local structures that were put in place to implement the Convention in Hong Kong. This section reveals both practical and political dimensions associated with the policy's development and implementation. Third, we engage with the politics of intangible heritage in Hong Kong. This section examines the political nature of culture and pays attention to the administrative processes that tend to evacuate or neutralize social and political tensions and aspirations. The implementation of the Convention, in some cases, meshes, and in others, avoids engagement with intangible cultural issues that could be contentious or are part of Hong Kong's politics of localism.
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