Letters | In government vs Hong Kong Golf Club, can Hong Kong find a way to build the housing and keep the golf course?
- Readers discuss the bitter fight over using part of the Fanling golf course for housing, how data analytics will shape the future, a legislator’s commitment to his constituents, and the brutal attack on a school in Uganda
It’s a shame that the proposal to build housing on part of the Fanling golf club has become a bitter fight to the end between the government and the Hong Kong Golf Club. However, this simple characterisation misses the point. This is surely a choice between removing a vital part of Hong Kong’s history and a key brand attribute for events, tourism and community well-being, and finding a far more viable alternative.
Whether the proposal goes ahead, in fact Hong Kong Golf Club members themselves will hardly be affected. Leaving aside the tournaments that will no longer be hosted there, members will still have the Eden and New courses to play on. The far bigger picture is that it’s Hong Kong that loses, not so much the golf club itself.
We need to find a way to have the government pause, reflect and make the right choice for Hong Kong. Otherwise, Hong Kong will be the biggest loser in all this, not the Hong Kong Golf Club.
Moving forward with this scheme, out of sheer frustration with the objections, would be the start of death by a thousand cuts. Let’s hope good sense prevails.