Queen’s Pier demolition removed a piece of Hong Kong history

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Activists, some of them on hunger strike for several days, camp out at Queen’s Pier in Central to protest against its demolition, before government clearance operations start, on August 1, 2007. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 5:17pm, 14 May 2018Updated: 12:33pm, 15 Oct 2020

I refer to the article, “City’s history being rewritten, one phrase at a time”, May 2. I agree with what the article says about the attempt to rewrite the history of Hong Kong as a former colony of the UK.

As the article said, the phrase “handover of sovereignty” has been removed from the English version of a government website. This may mean not only will teenagers not fully learn the history of this period, but also, significantly, that our next generation will believe in the wrong version.

I think that the demolition of Queen’s Pier more than 10 years back is a great example of how Hong Kong’s history is being removed. Queen’s Pier was a traditional landing point for British governors and royalty when they arrived on Hong Kong Island during colonial times. Although one of the reasons given for its demolition was urban development, I don’t believe that was reason enough for the Hong Kong government to remove the historic pier.

Queen’s Pier was not just a colonial relic and historic site, but also represented the collective memory of Hongkongers, which cannot be replaced.

Last but not least, I hope people in Hong Kong can become more aware of the need to protect our memories, and prevent them being replaced or removed.

Ray Hung, Tiu Keng Wan

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