Letters | Sacrificing part of the Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling will be a wake-up call for owners of brownfield sites

Again we read of how terrible it would be for Hong Kong and the golfing world if 32 hectares of Fanling golf course were used to house people rather than allow a handful of wealthy people to hit small white balls on grass (“How the Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling has nurtured women golfers and the Olympic dream”, March 12). The latest criticism of the government’s plans comes from the China Ladies Professional Golf Association. Once more claims have been made of Fanling’s “great ecological value” and importance to “sports in Hong Kong” appear. The letter said that players come to Hong Kong “from all over the world” for golfing events here and that these tournaments will be broadcast “to over 120 countries”.

Also neglected is the fact that the Hong Kong government has generously allowed a large part of an offshore island to be developed into a golf course. This one is located on Kau Sai Chau, with Sai Kung’s scenic landscapes. Why has the Jockey Club-managed public golf course on Kau Sai Chau been left out of this debate?

Can’t the small, vocal pro-golf lobby see that if our government takes back 32 hectares of Fanling, it will serve as a powerful wake-up call for other groups in the New Territories which currently make unwise, inadequate use of Hong Kong land, and set a precedent for freeing up land for housing? If 32 hectares of the Fanling golf course can go towards living space, then why can’t so-called brownfield sites be made available too?