I refer to the report about the Shaw Studios site in Clear Water Bay ("Just one building in Hong Kong's Shaw Studios proposed for top heritage grading", June 4).
Heritage preservation has always been a battlefield in Hong Kong. While conservationists demand more action from the government to save old buildings, officials often realise they have no statutory power to halt heritage demolition by developers. Given the failure to preserve HoTung Gardens, it is good to know that Shaw House will be saved from the bulldozers.
However, I have noticed that more historic buildings are disappearing, I feel an urgent need to speak up against the city's ruthless urban development that rarely pays respect to local heritage and leaves no traces of our past.
The redevelopment of the Shaw Studios is sad news to citizens.
It is proposed that the iconic studio complex be turned into a private residential and commercial complex for the happy few, and so it is likely to be gated from the public. If only Shaw House gets a grade one listing [as has been recommended], this does not reflect the true spirit of heritage preservation. Keeping individual buildings intact is only the first step.
The essence is to keep their narrative alive. What should really be preserved are memories, the heart and soul of the buildings.