Opinion | New towns part of grand plan for Hong Kong-Shenzhen integration
Albert Cheng says the government should look first at developing some of the 2,100 hectares of vacant land to help meet our housing shortage
Some 6,000 people attended last weekend's public forum in Sheung Shui to discuss the development of three new towns in the northeastern New Territories.
As expected, the opposing sides clashed verbally - with groups of villagers, environmentalists and social activists waving banners and chanting slogans - and scuffles broke out.
Scandal-hit Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po was thick-skinned enough to attend the session to answer questions from the public. To be honest, the event was more like a propaganda show than a public consultation. Chan obviously had difficulty dealing with the hecklers, but his message was loud and clear: the government is determined to go ahead with the development plan.
The so-called consultation forum was merely a public relations exercise to dress up the issue before Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying presents it to the Executive Council for approval.
But it's not just Leung who is pushing ahead with this plan; it's Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. Understandably, the central government won't rely on Leung to implement any important policies because of his lack of public administrative experience. Lam no doubt is the perfect choice to handle thorny issues like this one because of her combative style. After all, she is the one who went on a duty visit to Beijing, not Leung.
Lam has defended the plan, saying it's a development initiative to address the serious housing shortage currently, as well as our future needs. She said it was extremely urgent to develop new towns to cope with rapidly rising demand and to ensure the city's sustainable development. What rubbish.