Q Should the Stubbs Road mansion be declared a monument?
I arrived in Hong Kong in the mid-1970s but even before that, Love is a Many Splendored Thing was ingrained in my psyche forever. As a romantic, if ever I see it listed in television schedules, I drop everything to watch it. Sadly, I am unfamiliar with Soldiers of Fortune (and anyway, have always preferred William Holden to Clark Gable).
Unfortunately, the intention of Stephen Yow Mok-Shing to sell the property featured in both movies has come at an inconvenient time. I can understand his decision to benefit from the 'shortage' of land on the island but given the current political situation, maybe there is another way for Hong Kong people to express their wish to maintain a little bit of the magic of this territory.
If the government is stretched to fund such an extraordinary asking price, perhaps they should follow the excellent example of the New South Wales Government in Australia that ran the 'Opera House Lottery' which was extremely successful in generating funds to build what is now regarded as a world icon. Maybe the Jockey Club could administer such a lottery. Why should Hong Kong not have a world icon too?
In the past few days, I have passed 45 Stubbs Road on the bus, and would hate to see it dismembered in an effort to build yet another set of 'chopsticks'.
Warwick Matthews, Mid-Levels