Your editorial ("The harbour's rightful owners", October 23) was completely correct.
The rightful owners are the people of Hong Kong. The Protection of the Harbour Ordinance now clearly pronounces that the harbour is "a special public asset and a natural heritage of Hong Kong people".
Yet in practice it is not so. The public has no power over the harbour as there is no official body that represents the interests of the people.
Hence over the past 10 years, Society for Protection of the Harbour has been advocating the creation of a harbour authority that would champion the public interest over both the harbour and harbourfront.
This authority should both protect the harbour and ensure that the first use of the waterfront is for the enjoyment of the harbour by the people. This requires sincere co-operation between the government, the private sector and the public.
Our society fully supports the report and recommendations of the Harbourfront Commission mentioned in your editorial and we have written to the chief executive for his urgent attention. However, there are two caveats.
First, there must be genuine public representation on the harbour authority to ensure a proper balance between government, commercial and public interests.