ISE06/18-19

• Street performance or busking refers to the practice of artistic and entertaining activities such as singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument and acting in public open space, and the performers may receive monetary donations from the audience on a voluntary basis. Street performance has been considered to be a part of a city's cultural life contributing to the vibrancy and diversity of the city. Nonetheless, these activities often bring controversies in local communities due to obstruction and nuisances they may cause; and street performance may be restricted at certain public spaces with high foot traffic. For example, the Government has abolished in August 2018 the Mong Kok Pedestrian Precinct ("MKPP"), a popular street performance site;^{1Legend symbol denoting 1. The Transport Department introduced MKPP on a trial basis in 2000 for improving road safety and the overall pedestrian environment in light of the rising pedestrian flow. The Government had reduced the implementation hours of MKPP in 2010, 2012 and 2014 respectively to address issues about noise nuisance and street obstruction in the area. In light of the persistence of the issues, the Government abolished MKPP from 4 August 2018 in response to a motion passed by the Yau Tsim Mong District Council on 24 May 2018 requesting the Government to study the termination of the MKPP pilot scheme.} and the court has granted an interim injunction to the management company of Times Square banning street performers from staging performance in the public space of Times Square in October 2018. Some stakeholders have considered such moves as limiting the development of street performance in Hong Kong.
• Over the past few years, there have been calls for the Government to consider formulating a dedicated street performance policy and establishing a permit scheme to facilitate systematic management, promotion and development of street performance in Hong Kong. This issue of Essentials highlights the issues of street performance in Hong Kong and provides an overview on the policy on street performance and the related permit scheme implemented in Taipei City of Taiwan ("Taipei") and City of Melbourne of Australia ("Melbourne"). These two places have formulated a dedicated policy and/or a regulatory regime to manage street performance or busking activities, and facilitate their development in a planned and orderly manner.

Street performance activities in Hong Kong

• According to the Government, there are no laws in Hong Kong that prohibit street arts performance, but street performers have to observe the relevant laws and must not pose any risk to public safety or cause nuisances or obstruction to the public. For instance, under the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), a person is not allowed to play musical instrument in any public street or road unless permitted by the relevant authority; and under the Pleasure Grounds Regulation (Cap. 132BC), no person is allowed to make sounds by musical instrument or singing to the annoyance of other users in any pleasure ground (including parks) unless with permission of the relevant authority.
• According to the Government, it welcomes street arts performance to enrich the cultural life of the community, and the enforcement departments have taken a relatively liberal attitude towards street performance and would generally not stop or prosecute the street performers if they have not caused any nuisance or obstruction or triggered any complaint.^{2Legend symbol denoting See GovHK (2013) and Home Affairs Bureau (2014).} However, some stakeholders, particularly street performers, have expressed concern about the lack of appropriate public spaces with reasonably high foot traffic for street performance in Hong Kong. The concern has been heightened consequential to the closure of the then MKPP as a result of noise nuisance and public complaints. In addition, some stakeholders have pointed out that the existing legislation governing street performance and the related enforcement criteria on noise, for example, are vague.^{3Legend symbol denoting The noise level of street performance is governed by the Noise Control Ordinance (Cap. 400). However, the acceptable noise level or noise measurement procedures to be used in assessing the acceptability of the noise are not specified in the Ordinance.}
• Indeed, the Police has all along put in place a permit arrangement for playing musical instrument in public street or road under the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228).^{4Legend symbol denoting Pursuant to the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), street performers playing any musical instrument in public street or road are required to apply for a one-off permit from the Commissioner of Police.} According to the latest government information, the average number of permits issued was about 70 per year between 2016 and 2018. The low incidence of permit issued may probably be due to low awareness of the arrangement and the one-off nature of the permit.^{5Legend symbol denoting See香港01 (2018) and Home Affairs Bureau (2019).} The relevant authorities have also put in place other permit schemes for managing and/or promoting street performance in Hong Kong such as: (a) the "Open Stage" scheme managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") at the Sha Tin Town Hall;^{6Legend symbol denoting The "Open Stage" scheme was introduced in 2010 as a pilot scheme designating three places for street arts performers to stage their performance. In 2012, two sites under the scheme were excluded due to the relatively low level of patronage. At present, the scheme only covers a designated outdoor area of Sha Tin Town Hall, allowing performers who pass an audition to perform at the area. Between 2013 and 2017, only 62 applications for staging performance under the scheme were received by LCSD and 32 applicants had passed the audition to become eligible performers. See GovHK (2018).} and (b) the Street Performance Scheme implemented by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority ("WKCDA") with a permit valid for one year.^{7Legend symbol denoting Under the Street Performance Scheme which was launched in 2015, street performers are required to apply for a one-year permit from WKCDA before they are allowed to stage their performance at designated areas in WKCD. Applicants are required to demonstrate their performance for not less than five minutes to determine if the proposed performance is as stated in the application form. Street performers are also required to comply with the Guidelines for Street Performance set by WKCDA. As at January 2019, over 500 permits have been issued under the Scheme since its establishment, of which 124 are currently valid. See Home Affairs Bureau (2019).} Yet, effectiveness of these schemes in facilitating the development of street performance is in doubt. Both schemes have been considered to be restrictive in terms of the limited number of locations covered, low pedestrian flow, and various requirements imposed on performers such as the requirement for audition.^{8Legend symbol denoting See香港電台網站(2018) and東網(2018).}
• In order to manage and promote the development of street performance in Hong Kong, there have been views that the Government may consider establishing a general permit scheme for regulating street performance that covers a larger number of open spaces, drawing reference from the framework of the permit scheme and the related guidelines for street performance implemented by WKCDA.^{9Legend symbol denoting See 2016至2019年度油尖旺區議會第十六次會議記錄(2018) and 香港01 (2018).} Nonetheless, the Government appears to have reservations about the suggestion and has indicated that regulation of street performance involves complicated issues relating to content of the performance, coverage, standard as well as its implementation. Besides, members of the public may have diverse views on designating performance spaces in densely populated areas.^{10Legend symbol denoting See GovHK (2018).} Recently, the Government has proposed to amend the Pleasure Grounds Regulation (Cap. 132BC) with a view to strengthening control of noise nuisance caused by street performance activities in public pleasure grounds.

Street performance permit schemes in Taipei and Melbourne

• In contrast to Hong Kong, Taipei and Melbourne have managed street performance activities through their respective permit schemes featuring different permit types, requirements and conditions with a view to encouraging the development of street performance while minimizing the risk of public safety and nuisances that it may cause.  
• In Taipei, performing in public places requires authorization from the relevant management authority. The Department of Cultural Affairs ("DOCA") introduced the street performance permit scheme known as "臺北市街頭藝人從事藝文活動展演許可" following the passage of a related regulation in 2005. Under the permit scheme, local or overseas street performers who pass an audition are granted with a two-year permit to stage their street performance as an individual or a group of less than 10. At present, there are 61 designated locations within the city for the choice of street performers, which are mainly at parks, plazas, museums and certain stations of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit System. The fee for an individual permit is NT$500 (HK$129) and a group permit is NT$1,000 (HK$258).
• Melbourne has implemented a permit scheme to regulate busking activities since 2011. Unless with a permit, a person is not allowed to perform in public places including playing of musical instrument and singing. Following the review in 2017, Melbourne has refined the permit scheme to improve the management and delivery of street performance in the city. Detailed in the latest busking guidelines (Busking Handbook 2019), the busker permit scheme now features three types of permit^{11Legend symbol denoting Under the revamped permit scheme, the scope of street performance is tightened to include mainly activities that are entertaining and engaging. Certain activities such as bubble blowing, balloon twisting and portrait art are no longer covered under the revamped scheme.} with varying requirements and levels of control depending on the activity nature, public safety risk level and locations of performance. The general area busking permit is the most common type of permit allowing buskers such as musicians, singers and dancers to perform anywhere in the city except for certain "no-go zones"^{12Legend symbol denoting In Melbourne, busking is not permitted in parks and gardens; outside memorial/religious sites, hospitals and residential areas; and in other designated areas. Amplified busking is not allowed outside hotels, motels, residential buildings and in other designated areas.} and those designated as premium busking locations. The premium busking permit allows professional buskers to perform at designated premium busking locations, which are mostly retail areas with higher foot traffic.^{13Legend symbol denoting Currently, premium permit locations include five musical sites and one non-musical site in Bourke Street Mall. The local authority has considered adding new premium busking sites under the permit scheme.} The third type of permit, namely circle act busking permit, applies to structured performances that require participation of the audience and may use dangerous goods as part of the act at designated locations.
• In Melbourne, busking permit is issued on an individual basis and each performer or member of a performing group is required to apply for a permit. An audition is not required for general area buskers or circle act performers. Busking permits are granted to local or visiting street performers upon passing a review^{14Legend symbol denoting Each applicant has to demonstrate their act or performance to a review panel for assessing the safety and amenity aspects of the performance, and ensuring that the performance meets the criteria of busking. The review process also enables the local authority and the performers to identify and resolve any noise or risk management issues if there are any before a permit is granted.} to ensure they meet the safety, amenity and performance criteria. For applicants of the premium busking permit, additional quality criteria such as proficiency and professionalism of the performer, and uniqueness of the performance are assessed through an audition to ensure the standard of performance. The busking permit for local street performers is valid for one year while that for visiting street performers is valid for three months. The fee for a new one-year general area or circle act busking permit is A$30 (HK$167) while that for a new one-year premium busking permit is A$70 (HK$389).

Permit conditions

• In both Taipei and Melbourne, holders of a street performance/busking permit are required to comply with a set of conditions to minimize nuisances and safety issues that may be caused by their performances. Both places have laid down conditions to govern, among others, (a) the performance locations; (b) permitted time of performance; (c) size of performing groups; (d) pedestrian access; and (e) collection of monetary donations. In order to prevent noise and other nuisances, Melbourne has set specific conditions to control: (a) the length of each performance session; (b) distance between performers; (c) use of amplifiers; and (d) acceptable sound level of the performance.^{15Legend symbol denoting Under the busking guidelines in Melbourne, specific sound level standards are set for different types of permit. In case the noise output has generated complaints and is determined to be intrusive, the responsible officer may request the street performer to lower the sound level or cease the performance. Repeated excessive noise caused by a performance may result in cancellation of a busking permit.} In Taipei, street performers also have to comply with the conditions laid down by the management authorities of the respective designated performance locations, which may include specific sound level standard.

Enforcement

• Regarding the enforcement of the street performance permit scheme, DOCA in Taipei has set up a dedicated task force to conduct inspections of street performance activities and handle complaints. DOCA has also implemented a penalty point system under which a street performer's permit will be revoked if he or she has repeatedly breached the permit conditions and accumulated a specific number of penalty points. The police and the management authorities of the designated locations will also be responsible for enforcing the relevant legislation and reporting any breaches of permit conditions or legislative provisions to DOCA.  
• In Melbourne, self-regulation of busking activities is encouraged. Street performers are expected to work cooperatively, take responsibility for managing the performance spaces, and resolve disputes and complaints with local residents and/or businesses amicably. In case a complaint or a report of a breach of permit conditions/any requirements under the busking handbook is lodged with the local authority, the responsible enforcement officers will visit the site concerned and seek rectification if a breach is identified. The local authority may issue a warning or an infringement notice, or suspend or cancel a street performer's permit in accordance with the enforcement protocol. Nonetheless, it was reported that the enforcement officers had emphasized cooperation and education rather than confrontation and punishment in their enforcement approach, and the street performers had generally complied when requested to rectify the breach of conditions such as lowering their sound level.^{16Legend symbol denoting See McNamara, L. and Quilter, J. (2015).}

Issues and recent developments

• Currently, there are some 900 licensed street performers or performing groups in Taipei. Nonetheless, some stakeholders have criticized the audition requirement under the permit scheme as stringent and the evaluation criteria not transparent. As the number of licensed street performers increases, there have also been concern about competition for performance spots at prime locations and the lack of a common platform for street performers to book performance spots. At present, management authorities of the designated street performance locations may adopt different booking arrangements and for some popular locations, street performers may be required to draw lots to determine which zone they may perform.^{17Legend symbol denoting See The News Lens (2017).} Recently, the local government has attempted to improve the transparency of the procedures for assessing permit applicants by specifying in the relevant regulations the size and composition of the assessment panel; and the assessment criteria, which include proficiency of performers, design and style of the performance, and interaction with the audience.
• The busking permit scheme in Melbourne appears fairly well-received. As at September 2017, there were about 1 900 busking permit holders, of which 88% were general area busking permit holders and 6% were premium busking permit holders. According to the local authority, most stakeholders consider busking as a positive part of life in Melbourne, with ambience and atmosphere being the main reasons for liking busking.^{18Legend symbol denoting See City of Melbourne (2017).} The busking permit scheme has been welcomed by stakeholders as it has struck a fair balance between regulating the use of public spaces and facilitating the development of busking. The street performers generally felt that their contributions to the vitality of the city had been respected and appreciated.^{19Legend symbol denoting See McNamara, L. and Quilter, J. (2016).} Taking into account the public feedback in the course of review in 2017, the local authority has recently fine-tuned the busking permit scheme under which a new sound measurement approach is adopted to facilitate easier monitoring of sound level by street performers,^{20Legend symbol denoting Sound level standard measured in terms of "LAeq" (A-weighted equivalent continuous sound level measured over a stated period of time) has replaced the previous "L10" level (measuring the sound level exceeding for 10% of the time of the measurement period) which is sensitive to short-term noise events. The new measurement can also be easily measured using a mobile application and facilitate noise control by the street performers.} and opportunities have also been taken to add new premium busking sites in the city.

Concluding remarks

• In Hong Kong, while there are no laws prohibiting street arts performance, there appears a lack of coordinated and facilitative arrangements that help promote such cultural development on one hand and maintain public amenity on the other. Both Taipei and Melbourne have recognized street performance as a part of the cultural life of the city and managed its development under a clearly spelt out regulatory framework and a related permit scheme which aim at minimizing nuisances that street performance may cause to the local communities without stifling the opportunities for street performers to showcase their talents. In Melbourne, the issuance of detailed busking guidelines also aims to help stakeholders understand the regulatory framework and the permit conditions, and facilitate self-regulation of street performers.
• Regulation of street performance through a permit scheme may take different approaches which vary in terms of the types of permit issued, criteria adopted for assessing permit applicants, and designation of public spaces for street performance. Taipei features a uniform permit scheme for all types of street performance, imposing quality assessment criteria on all applicants, and designating certain number of locations for street performance. On the other hand, Melbourne has introduced three types of permit to govern different types of street performance and imposed more stringent assessment criteria and control on permit holders undertaking performances with higher public safety risk or performing in premium busking locations. Except for designated premium busking locations and certain "no-go zones", general area busking permit holders who have passed a review are allowed to perform in different parts of the city.

Prepared by Ivy CHENG
Research Office
Information Services Division
Legislative Council Secretariat
22 May 2019