Five new members of the Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee were appointed on Friday by the Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau in a gesture to help the ancient opera withstand challenges posed by modern pop culture.

These members, who are actors and actress, playwright from the Cantonese opera sector, were included in the 16-member panel, which invited celebrities from business and show-biz circles.

Besides the 16 members, representative from government agencies, like the Home Affairs Bureau, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and cultural institutions also participated the committee.

Members were appointed for a two-year term, effective from May 1, 2006 to April 30, 2008.

"We hope that members of this new term will continue to enhance communication between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the Cantonese opera groups," a spokesman for the Home Affairs Bureau said.

"These will include, in particular, the promotion and preservation of the heritage of this traditional art form, as well as studies on developing permanent venues for training, performances and promotional activities for the sector," the spokesman said.

Though still popular among the Cantonese-spoken people in southern China's Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, Cantonese Opera is now facing increasing competition from pop culture that had captured many youth's hearts in the region.

The Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee is an advisory body set up by the Home Affairs Bureau in 2004 to advise the Government on the promotion, preservation, study and development of Cantonese opera and to assist the Government in formulating policies to develop this art form.

Since the establishment of the Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee, members had made dedicated efforts to help the development of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong, setting up a Cantonese Opera Development Fund and promoting related training.

During the previous terms, the Committee had also been instrumental in facilitating exchange and cooperation on Cantonese opera and the preservation of its heritage in the Greater Pearl River Delta Region.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2006)