Goodbyes begin for old Legco site in Central
The city's legislature will move in September to a new home three times the size of the old one. But only time can answer whether that means more space to engage the public or a greater distance away from them.
After the Legislative Council building in Central served as the battleground of political debate for 26 years, a few hundred present and former lawmakers, officials, Legco staff and reporters bid farewell to it today.
A time capsule containing mementos from members of the last colonial Legco - some directly elected but dismissed and replaced by a provisional Legco hand-picked by Beijing - will be unearthed at a ceremony tomorrow.
The new Legco complex on the Tamar site in Admiralty is as different from the old one as it can be. It was modern in design and much bigger, with a 40,000-square-metre floor area, and was designed to engage the public better, Legco secretary general Pauline Ng Man-wah said.
'We hope to let Hongkongers better understand the city's legislature,' Ng said after the first media visit to the new headquarters, adding that public tours would be increased sixfold to 81 per week.
The state-of-the-art building looks capable of achieving this goal. It has a viewing gallery, a Legco garden and so on, which the present building in Central does not have.
A more spacious chamber that can hold a maximum of 134 members of the public and larger conference rooms mean more Hongkongers will be able to witness the city's political debates on the spot. The four protest zones surrounding the building can accommodate 2,000.
But some say the design will not foster a closer relationship.
Pan-democratic lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan said the spacious design obstructed media access.
'The new building is lawmaker- and official-oriented,' said Ho, of Civic Act-up. 'In the old building, legislators and officials must face the press whenever they enter or leave the chamber, given the press room is only an aisle apart. But after the move, they could easily escape from media bombardment.'
Many would remember unruly radical pan-democrats such as 'Longhair' Leung Kwok-hung or Wong Yuk-man throwing objects towards officials as they protested against policies. That would be more difficult in a large chamber.
Legislators will be more distant from officials in the wider and taller chamber, which could house a maximum of 120 legislators.
Legco's tripled security force - from 30 to 90 - may also have an effect during protests.
While members' offices are now located in the west wing of the central government offices, they will be clustered with the other Legco facilities in the new building.
The present building is a few streets away from the power base of the administration, the so-called government hill, but the new infrastructure will be next to the future Chief Executive's Office and central government offices' high block.
'Symbolically, this is against the separation of powers,' Ho said.
