Mother of a howler on territory symbol
It is the symbol of Hong Kong and the centrepiece on National Day, but Wan Chai's giant Grand Bauhinia sculpture is also a source of embarrassment.
It has emerged that Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and senior officials celebrated reunification last week in the shadow of a howling spelling mistake.
The plaque accompanying the sculpture of the Grand Bauhinia outside the Convention Centre reads: 'The rendering of the Great Wall on the pedestal symbolizes the greatness of our montherland.'
Horrified officials are trying to find out how the mistake made it on to the plaque, which has been in place for four years.
The discovery comes amid rising concern that English standards have declined since the handover in 1997.
Former legislator Christine Loh Kung-wai said: 'Oh dear. That's a major boo-boo. This is a very special piece of public art, supposedly embodying one country, two systems - and they can't even get their spelling right. It is very unfortunate.
'Is it a sign of the declining standards of English? Well, you would have to trace whoever is responsible for this.'
An eagle-eyed Sunday Morning Post reader sent a letter to the paper pointing out the mistake. Andrew Chee, of Pokfulam, wrote: 'As it has been four years since the sculpture was erected, it is just not good enough that the error has not been corrected.
'I think the word 'mother' is probably one of the first words a Primary One student learns in the first week of school.
'What must tourists visiting the Convention Centre, particularly those from the mainland, think of the English standards in Hong Kong?'
A spokesman for the office of the Director of Administration's said: 'We don't know who is responsible. We are not sure if it was part of the original donation from the State Council, or whether the mistake was made during renovation.
'Obviously we will now be seeking to rectify this as soon as possible,' he said.
Ms Loh added: 'They should just get on with correcting it and correcting it quickly.'
