Easing of access to country park feared
Sai Kung residents suspect there may be plans to move the barrier gate
Sai Kung residents have started a campaign against any moves to change rules for entering the 4,477 hectare Sai Kung Country Park.
They fear land developers and indigenous villagers are renewing plans to ask for a significant relaxation of entry conditions. There have been a number of such applications over the past 10 years.
If approved, such a move might not only permit a flood of vehicles into the park but also encourage development in long-deserted hamlets. The government did not answer when asked if there were any moves to shift the barrier gate at Pak Tam Chung further into the park.
Everyone who lives within the country park has a permit to drive beyond the barrier.
On Sunday last week, more than 25 concerned people met just inside the country park barrier gate to discuss the issue.
Moving the gate or relaxing entry restrictions could have a detrimental effect on one of Hong Kong's natural treasures, said Canadian environmentalist Judy Love Eastham, who has a business in Sai Kung and lives inside the park boundaries.
The park figured prominently in government plans to further develop Sai Kung as a tourist destination, she said. However, she said it was important that the park not be overrun.
There have been persistent rumours among conservationists that villagers who mostly live outside the park or overseas had asked the government to move the barrier gate several kilometres further inside the park. This would allow traffic access to places such as Hoi Ha and Wong Shek Pier. It would also encourage development of abandoned villages, Ms Love Eastham said.
'We want meaningful public consultation,' she said.
The protesters plan to write to government departments and legislators to make their views known.
'We want to make it very clear that we fear some application has been made and that we expect the wider public, including leisure and environmental groups, to be consulted,' Ms Love Eastham said.
Sai Kung North Rural Committee vice-chairman David Ho Tai-wai, whose home village is within the park, said he had not heard of any new plan to change barrier regulations. However, he thought the park should be more open to outside traffic.
'Tourists find it difficult to get into the park and enjoy the environment. People such as real estate agents speak about the problem of the gates effecting the decisions of future clients,' he said.
Government sources have said requests by villagers to open the park roads were made every few months. The last time such a plea had been made was the middle of last year.
