SADDENED BY DESTRUCTION OF HONG KONG'S HISTORIC BUILDINGS

I read with great sadness in yesterday's South China Morning Post, that approval to demolish 64 Kennedy Road has been granted.

I entirely agree with archaeologist William Meacham that the Antiquities and Monuments Office is failing in its duty.

One by one all of the old buildings of Hong Kong are being torn down, completely obliterating our cultural and historical heritage. We have almost become a monotone city of glass.

While I agree that some of our skyscrapers are beautiful, how much more appealing would it have been if the Hong Kong Club had remained in the heart of Central along with the old Hong Kong Post Office? The buildings that have replaced them are utterly drab. You have to wonder how much more appealing Hong Kong would be to tourists if some of these extremely picturesque buildings had remained.

And now another building must be sacrificed to add to the coffers of the Ngan family, which is, as you reported, one of Hong Kong's richest.

Instead, this building could be renovated to become a museum or a restaurant, like the Alkaf mansion in Singapore. In fact, it could be used for any number of purposes which would be enjoyed by the community as a whole.