An action group aims to mount a thousand-strong rally tomorrow at the site of the historic Central Police Station in an effort to save a building from the wreckers. The organisers are hoping to recruit enough people to join hands around the entire site, which includes the old Victoria Prison and former Central Magistracy. Their action comes after a paper prepared for Legislative Council discussion said only 17 of the buildings were likely to be preserved at the site, which is about to be put up for tender for development. Action group leader and Central and Western District councillor Kam Nai-wai said yesterday the event, 'Hand in hand to protect monuments', aimed to save a building at the entrance to Victoria Prison that had been deemed non-historical because it was built after the second world war. 'The government claimed the building was built in the post-war era, and that it did not possess great historical value as it did not have a history of 140 years. We question that opinion,' Mr Kam said. 'The building, together with the police station report room, was one that has enjoyed direct access by the public in the past few decades. I believe it formed part of the collective memory of Hong Kong citizens.' The paper, prepared by the Tourism Commission and the Economic Development and Labour Bureau for discussion at Legco next Monday, says 'a small number of non-historic buildings, including offices, storage rooms and temporary structures built during the post-war period, may be demolished with the approval of the Antiquities Authority'. Mr Kam said his group, the Action Group on Protection of the Central Police Station Historical Compound, understood these included the building at the entrance of Victoria Prison. 'So we encourage citizens to join in freely on Sunday,' he said. 'We have calculated that so long as we have 1,000 participants, hand in hand we can surround the whole compound.' The buildings listed for preservation were built between the 1860s and 1945.
