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Q Should rules be revised so long-established dai pai dong can survive?

I read with interest your story on the slow extinction of yet another facet of Hong Kong daily life, dai pai dong. Of course, all cities evolve and change. Unfortunately, it appears that Hong Kong doesn't evolve, it is merely replaced every 10 years or so (much to the glee of those involved in property development, I'm sure).

Any visitor wishing to experience the evolution of Hong Kong into one of Asia's greatest trading ports would be hard pressed to find evidence that it ever existed before the invention of the mega shopping mall.

Now government regulations (imposed I assume in the 1970s to control a public health issue) are effectively condemning another vibrant part of Hong Kong's history to the lap sap. The irony this time is that it's not some old dusty building, but an integral part of neighbourhood life and the government could fix the situation rather easily, by changing the law.

I'm amazed that the tourism board is still ploughing that infertile rut, namely Hong Kong: the shoppers' paradise. Maybe in the 1960s and 1970s I would agree, but the year is now 2005 - been there, done that and, anyway, it's cheaper on the mainland.

It seems the board is again behind the curve. For instance, wrapping one of our few remaining heritage sites (the clock tower on Kowloon side) in a shopping bag highlights the dearth of its imagination.

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