Hong Kong’s heritage sites face continued threat despite government grading system
Activist says several sites have been destroyed or damaged over the past year; he expects this year to be worse
Hong Kong has a long and rich history as a former British colony and the gateway to mainland China, but markers of this heritage have been rapidly disappearing.
While the revitalisation of the old Tai Po police station – built by the British in 1899 as the first permanent post in the New Territories – was recognised last year by Unesco Asia-Pacific, other historical sites have been less fortunate.
“In 2016, so many heritage sites [were] destroyed,” community activist Yuen Chi-yan said. “And I think the situation [this year] will be worse than before.”
Some of the sites destroyed or damaged last year include the former detention centre on Victoria Road, the Gordon Hard barracks in Tuen Mun, a bungalow at 28 Lugard Road, Sai Lam Temple in Sha Tin and a former British military camp at Queen’s Hill, according to Yuen.
The 17,000 sq ft detention centre on Victoria Road on Hong Kong Island – formerly a clubhouse for British soldiers before it was used to jail political prisoners during the 1967 Cultural Revolution riots – will become part of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business campus in the city.