Symbols of crown and colony have stood the test of time

Colonial landmarks have survived remarkably well in Hong Kong, historians said yesterday, even as authorities consider moves to shift the statue of King George VI in the botanical gardens.

The dumpy figure of Queen Victoria still sits in Victoria Park, the Legco dome retains its crown, the Noonday Gun fires daily - watched by many mainland tourists - and streets still honour past governors. 'I expected far more drastic changes than have happened since 1997,' historian Dan Waters said, adding the crown and the Tudor coat of arms still remained on the Legco building.

Political and public appetite for banishing such symbols has proved weak. In 1997, the Legco Commission, a panel of 11 members responsible for internal affairs, told the chief secretary's office they wished the two Legco symbols of British sovereignty to stay.

Historian Jason Wordie said: 'Most people, especially the great and the good in government, retain a fondness for these things. Many are quite Anglophile. The problem is small-time politicians such as district board members trying to prove how patriotic they are by doing things like trying to move King George VI.'

Some district councillors want to remove the colonial monarch's statue and replace it with one of Chinese revolutionary hero Sun Yat-sen.

Mr Wordie said over-zealous officialdom had sometimes led to items being replaced later.

'The badge of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps was removed from the gate of City Hall's gardens and was put back in 1998 by order of Tung Chee-hwa - the gardens were dedicated to the volunteers,' he said.