Send fung shui claims to Audit Commission

Traditional rights and interests of indigenous people in the New Territories are protected by the Basic Law. We have just been reminded of this by a village head who persuaded the government to approve in principle the spending of public money on a new bridge - to compensate for disruption to fung shui caused by nearby public works. He says the government must respect Hong Kong's traditions under the Basic Law and asks: 'How can they prove fung shui is non-existent?'

That is not the point. The issue is transparency. It has emerged that the bridge, to replace a footbridge, would give vehicle access to land in Kap Lung village in Tai Lam country park of which, according to searches of the records, he owns more than a third. But he denies using fung shui to pursue property development opposed by village residents, saying it is to 'rebuild our ancestors' homes'.

The public works in question is tunnelling for the Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangdong express rail link a kilometre away. The use of public funds for fung shui compensation is not in itself unusual. What sets this case apart is that we have got to know about it. Information is usually not readily available on details of claims, how much has been paid out or what criteria are used to determine them.

We can expect to hear a lot more about these matters now. Rightly, lawmakers are leading calls for the government to come clean about how much it pays for fung shui compensation, and to make the process more transparent. This comes amid concerns that projects are being held hostage to geomancy and that some people stand to benefit more than others. Villagers and pressure groups want the Kap Lung village bridge blocked while the Legislative Council investigates it.

Officials have now revealed that a special working group set up recently just to deal with fung shui claims related to the express rail link has heard 16 cases, of which all but one were accepted and compensation awarded. The Lands Department will not disclose the amount involved in the payments for religious rituals, temple renovations and the building of a pagoda, village office and worship halls. But it did say that over the past three years the department has paid out nearly HK$1 million for tun fu religious rituals related to 28 public works projects involving 47 indigenous villages.

These measures pay due respect to cultural sensitivities and uphold tradition that forms part of the fabric of Hong Kong's uniqueness, just as fung shui gives face to modern city landmarks like the Bank of China tower and HSBC headquarters.