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Vivienne Chow

Shirley Zhao

A photo showing a group of young children who appeared to have their hands tied to a rope while touring an art show in Hong Kong went viral yesterday, sparking online debate.
It was understood that the children were taking part in a tour organised by Art Basel’s lead sponsor UBS at the five-day art fair at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, which closed on Tuesday.
Some internet posters were not happy about the way the children were treated.
“Are they dogs being taken out for a walk on a leash?” one poster wrote on Facebook.
Another said the children looked like prisoners.
In a statement from UBS, issued by Art Basel’s publicist, the bank said it organised free activities and art tours for children during the fair.
“These voluntary tours are run by trained educators and the younger children under 12 years old are advised to hold on to a safety rope during the tour, in order to keep the group together whilst touring the very busy show floor,” the statement said.
“This is in line with standard practice in schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong and elsewhere. UBS takes the safety and security of children taking part in these programmes very seriously and has put plans in place to ensure that the children are properly supervised throughout.”
Kwok Chor-kiu, chairman of the Tai Po and North District Early Childhood Education Principal Association, said teachers did not need to use a rope to keep children from wandering off in this instance because they were not outside doing dangerous activities. 
She said her kindergarten did not use such methods in off-campus activities. Children would be divided into groups and taken care of by teachers, teaching assistants or parent volunteers, she said. 
Art Basel showcased 233 galleries from 37 countries this year. Multimillion dollar sales of artworks have been reported.


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Hong Kong artists gather honours, attention at Art Basel and Art Central

Art Basel 2015

The children's hands were tied together during the tour. Photo: SCMP Pictures

News

Hong Kong

A photo showing a group of young children who appeared to have their hands tied to a rope while touring an art show in Hong Kong went viral, sparking online debate.
