The chief executive’s vision of developing the northern New Territories for Hong Kong’s future should be supported. The New Territories have an area of about 96,000 hectares, which is seven times the combined size of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Because of the historical political background, only an estimated quarter of the land area there has been developed. The Joint Declaration signed between China and the United Kingdom in 1984 made the New Territories a part of the Hong Kong special administrative region. Politically, the New Territories therefore became the same as Hong Kong Island and Kowloon after the handover to China in 1997. Yet, even now, the New Territories region is still governed under a different law (the New Territories Ordinance ), which creates a different class of land (land held under “Block Government Leases”) and a different class of people (“indigenous inhabitants”) with different legal rights and standing. Such anomalies should be resolved without delay in order not to hinder the development of the New Territories. As the vast areas of land in the New Territories still available for development are many times what is left of the harbour, it is wrong to still propose reclaiming the little that remains of the harbour. The bill to amend the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, put forward by some members of the Legislative Council, is misconceived and unnecessary. The proposed bill will make 90 per cent of the harbour available for further reclamation and take away the right of Hong Kong people to protect most of the harbour. To meet Hong Kong’s housing, economic and recreational demands over the next three decades, 3,000 hectares of land will be needed. If we acquired this land by reclaiming the 3,000-odd hectares that still remain of the harbour, there would be no harbour left. The decision to preserve the harbour was unanimously made by the community and the Legislative Council 25 years ago. Time and energy should not be wasted now by looking backwards and still proposing to reclaim the harbour. Instead we should look forward to the future by supporting the present proposal of our chief executive. The future of Hong Kong’s urban development clearly lies in making use of the New Territories and not reclaiming what is left of the harbour. Winston K.S. Chu, vice-chairman, Society for Protection of the Harbour Property tycoons, remember the lesson of Chinese tech Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor reportedly scheduled a meeting with representatives of major property developers last week to discuss housing-related issues covered in her policy address. There has been no report on whether the meeting was postponed due to the No 8 typhoon. Whether or not it went ahead, however, a meeting is unlikely to have yielded any meaningful result. Over the years, local developers have spared no effort to maintain the monopolistic status quo. Their responses to various initiatives by the government, such as the land sharing scheme and the vacancy tax , have been lukewarm at best. Telling our tycoons, who benefit the most from the current game rules, to help relieve the housing problem is certainly a fruitless endeavour. Hopes that the government can solve the problem within the current term are likely to end in disappointment. My guess is the central government will eventually take matters into its own hands, or we may need a new leader to foster real change. It was interesting to know that a special item was put on the agenda for a regular meeting of the executive committee of the Real Estate Developers Association, regarding whether any members had met central government officials recently about housing issues. It would appear to be a sign of distrust of its members. Committee chairman Stewart Leung Chi-kin called on the whole industry to act together. I hope they can act together with the government, rather than just among themselves, as collusion is a sensitive issue in the eyes of the central government. Let’s not forget the lesson of the mainland tech giants. Stanley Ip, Sai Wan Ho Hong Kong governance: broken promises, discarded plans There is a compelling reason for Tom Yam’s lack of faith in Carrie Lam’s Northern Metropolis plan (“Northern Metropolis and Lantau housing projects a farce without the necessary people”, October 8 ). It’s a precedent seen in Hong Kong’s languishing plans to build a second central business district, after Central, in the Kwun Tong and Kai Tak areas. This Kowloon East plan included an elevated rail link cutting across Kowloon, but that proposal has vanished following the change of leadership from Leung Chun-ying to Lam. Broken promises are not unusual in government plans. This suggests that the Northern Metropolis plan will be set aside or torn into pieces as soon as Carrie Lam steps down. Over the years, the central government in Beijing has demonstrated a will of steel to build incredible infrastructure and transport networks – railways, roads, bridges and hydro power stations. It has even achieved a landing on the moon . Had a fraction of Beijing’s stamina been instilled into our government, Hongkongers would have been living in blissful wealth equality long before this. Edmond Pang, Fanling Row our boat, nurture our talent If Hong Kong were a Marvel comic, we would relish the vision of the Northern Metropolis and Lantau Tomorrow. But this utopian mirage is somewhat at odds with the reality of Hong Kong today. A future is built upon a foundation of support for citizens to achieve their best, and this is underpinned by a government that inspires individuals to aspire. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Yuet-ngor may feel she is a visionary and that integration of Hong Kong into the Greater Bay Area makes sense, but buildings are not the heartbeat of communities and infrastructure not the pulse of the people. For our halcyon days to return, Hong Kong needs a pathway of opportunity that allows the natural talent of our city to blossom and to invigorate entrepreneurial creativity often stymied by a government that consistently fails to nurture talent across a spectrum of industries, from arts and culture to technology. Hong Kong indeed has much to lose, as President Xi Jinping warned in 2017 . If we are not to miss the boat, our government needs to start earnestly paddling for the people it represents. Mark Peaker, The Peak Housing remains a distant mirage Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in her policy address that the government has identified some 350 hectares of land for 330,000 public housing units to be built in the next 10 years. But government projects have in the past run into many delays. The government may have enough land to build the flats, but we have no confidence that the flats can be completed in 10 years as promised. Angel Zhang Yuk Hei, Tseung Kwan O
