The Secretary for Home Affairs in Hong Kong Tsang Tak-sing said Friday that four local intangible cultural heritage items had been successfully inscribed onto the third national list of intangible cultural heritage.

The newly inscribed four heritage items include the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, the Tai O dragon boat water parade, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance and the Yu Lan Ghost Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow community.

According to Tsang, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will link closely with the bearer organizations to take forward measures for preserving, promoting and transmitting these parts of Hong Kong's cultural heritage.

"The four items all have unique characteristics and cultural value. In spite of modernization and urbanization, they have been passed on from generation to generation and helped maintain the bonds of people in local communities, which has made the events particularly valuable," said Tsang.

"We will continue our commitment to preserving and promoting local heritage and will also encourage the participation of the community in supporting the continuation and development of Hong Kong's traditional culture.

"The HKSAR government is now conducting a territory-wide survey of intangible cultural heritage in Hong Kong that is expected to complete in 2012. The first inventory of Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage will be compiled using data collected through the survey. This will help formulate comprehensive safeguarding measures for local intangible cultural heritage," said Tsang.

The HKSAR government submitted an application for these four items to be inscribed onto the third national list of intangible cultural heritage in September 2009. And the four items fall within the category of "social practices, rituals and festive events" set out in the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.