I REFER to the article headlined, 'Removal of trees 'danger to wildlife' ', by Jonathan Hill (Sunday Morning Post, December 3), concerning the lychee garden at Tai Tong Valley, Yuen Long.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (Hong Kong) (WWF HK), considers Mr Walker's strong claims about the 'removal of trees' to be misleading, since the issue at stake concerns not the putative felling of fruit trees, but the encroachment of Crown land within country parks.
Part of the lychee garden is located within the Tai Lam Country Park which was designated on February 23, 1979, under the Country Parks Ordinance (Cap.208) (CPO).
Section 10(1) of the CPO stipulates that 'no new development shall be carried out within the area of the proposed country park shown in the draft map without the prior approval of the Authority'.
The District Lands Office (DLO) and the Agriculture and Fisheries Department (AFD) have confirmed that the lychee garden has been developed without approval, and that various structures have been erected on Crown land outside the country park without the relevant permission.
The illegal encroachment into country parks areas is a blatant violation of Hong Kong law.