A senior government official yesterday urged the Democratic Party to reconsider taking the government to court over Queen's Pier.
The party says the government erred in not declaring the pier a monument and in the HK$50 million funding application to remove it.
Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made the call a day after the Democratic Party threatened to seek a judicial review. The party had failed to stop the Legislative Council's public works subcommittee from approving funding for the pier's removal.
Before the vote, it was disclosed that Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping, as Antiquities Authority, had decided he would not declare the pier a monument although the Antiquities Advisory Board had granted it grade I historic status.
But no written information was given to legislators on the decision during Wednesday's meeting. Ms Lam said details will be disclosed to the Finance Committee in two weeks. 'Speculation that Mr Ho might face pressure from other officials if he decided the pier did not qualify to become a monument is unfounded,' Ms Lam said.
Democrat Lee Wing-tat said the party will proceed with the judicial review. 'It is not just about how Mr Ho made the decision; it is also about why the government only informed us during the meeting. What Ms Lam had said suggests they made mistakes.'