Much achieved by Queen's Pier protests
There is no doubting the passion for heritage conservation among the protesters who have gone so far as to go on a hunger strike to stop Queen's Pier from being removed. Their energies have come too late, though; the government's plans for construction of a highway over the site are too advanced to be reversed.
This is not to say that the effort of those fighting to preserve the pier have been in vain. Far from it. They have done what few in Hong Kong have been able to achieve previously - making authorities rethink their approach towards our past, present and future.
Whereas in the past the government gave little thought to allowing development to take precedence over preservation, now it is showing signs of becoming more sensitive to community wishes.
There is still a need to develop a better mechanism for deciding what is worth saving and providing adequate protection. The government has shown some indications of a change in approach. Last Thursday it decreed that the graffiti of the late, self-proclaimed king of Kowloon, Tsang Tsou-choi, should be preserved. It was a small step, but one that showed government awareness of public sentiment.
Queen's Pier was determined in May to be a class one monument worthy of preservation and it will therefore survive, but not at its current location. It will be moved to a soon-to-be-decided site, losing its historical context. This was a direct response to the demonstrations, sparked six months earlier when demolition of the nearby Star Ferry Pier began. The Star Ferry protests came too late - the replacement pier, in mock Edwardian style, had already been opened and reclamation work was under way. With this realisation, the preservation calls moved to Queen's Pier.
There is no doubt about the pier's place in Hong Kong's history. Architecturally, however, it has little value. Wherever it is moved, it must be on the harbour shorefront, so that it retains meaning to those who view it.
The removal of Queen's Pier is inevitable given how far the Central and Wan Chai reclamations have proceeded. There is no point in the protesters continuing to try to prevent redevelopment from going ahead and they should peacefully give way. They should not consider their battle as lost, though; to the contrary, they have scored a victory that has had consequences far beyond heritage. That was amply displayed yesterday when they met Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor at the pier. She was not behind redevelopment of the site, having become a minister only last month, but nonetheless made it her responsibility to explain face-to-face the government's position.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen made a point of saying during his re-election campaign that a proper balance had to be struck between development and conservation. This goal will be better attained following the creation of Mrs Lam's department, which covers both development and conservation.
Mrs Lam's decision to face the protesters is a welcome shift from the more aloof approach often adopted by officials in the past. Other ministers must also be prepared to defend their policies in public like this.
Queen's Pier will soon be removed. But lessons have, it is hoped, been learned. The government should be prepared to adopt a new, responsive approach when dealing with other projects that touch upon our heritage.
