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Games bid extension wastes time and money

Asian Games

Last week, it seemed like public sentiment - and common sense - had trumped vanity projects when the largest pro-establishment party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), appeared to be hesitant to support the HK$44 billion 2023 Asian Games bid, citing a lack of support from the public.

Big projects, of course, are nothing new in Hong Kong. The government has already committed HK$68 billion to an express rail project and over HK$20 billion on a cultural district. But it seems like public support for such huge infrastructure spending is waning in favour of public funds being spent more cost-effectively on policies that would benefit the ordinary Hongkonger. The public discontent over the Asian Games bid likely prompted the DAB to voice some opposition to the idea. With the pan-democratic parties having already expressed deep reservations against the idea the bid seemed doomed.

But the DAB, which is closely linked to government policies, stopped short of condemning the idea and suggested instead that the consultation period had not been set for long enough and that the plans were being rushed. Barely 12 hours later, the government stated it would extend the consultation period for another four weeks. The original six-week period was to end on November 3.

One might ask: why? Government consultations can justifiably be extended when circumstances change during the course of the original period, or when the public is genuinely divided, or requires more time to digest complex legal issues and economic ramifications. Issues such as the competition law, goods and services tax and the minimum wage, for example, are policies which have required many years of thought and analysis because of their complexity and rolling developments which affect calculations.

But in this case, the questions being asked of the public are quite simple. The consultation document itself consists only of 15 pages, at the end of which it asks three questions: 'Do you think hosting the Asian Games will help our athletes to achieve higher standards of performance? Do you think hosting the Asian Games will be an important milestone in the development of sports in Hong Kong? Would it be in Hong Kong's overall interest in sport development, social and economic terms to host the Asian Games in 2023, having regard to the cost and other relevant considerations?'

Even in the government's own assessment to promote the idea, the purported benefits 'cannot be quantified'. If that is the case, then what are the new factors that the public has to consider which could cause their calculations to change what was a 'no' into a 'yes'? We are merely being asked on whether we think it is in Hong Kong's best interest to spend that money on hosting the Asian Games and it seems clear that most of us think not.

Will hosting the Asian Games promote greater awareness of sport, improve sporting facilities and generate some economic activity? Of course it will, but that doesn't mean we should commit billions of dollars into doing so when the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Rather than extend the consultation period, perhaps the government should use that time to think of how better to use that money to benefit the public.

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