Queen’s Pier belongs in Central and should return there
- The battle to save the pier in 2007 showed its importance to the people of Hong Kong. Now the promise to reassemble it not far from its historic home should be kept
The battle by defiant protesters to save Queen’s Pier from demolition 14 years ago sparked scenes which, at the time, were rarely witnessed in Hong Kong.
Young protesters gathered at the historic site of the pier in Central. There were sit-ins, protest songs, a hunger strike and a banner scrawled in blood. Demonstrators clashed with police, arrests were made and campaigners launched a court action in a bid to save the pier.
The government was taken by surprise by the strength of public opposition to its plans to dismantle Queen’s Pier. But newly appointed development secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stood firm, insisting it could not change course.
Hong Kong’s Queen’s Pier may be relocated away from original Central area
All this will sound familiar to those who experienced the civil unrest that engulfed Hong Kong in 2019. The protests in 2007 were generally peaceful and were not on anything like the same scale as the prolonged demonstrations following Lam’s disastrous bid to introduce an unpopular extradition bill. The demands made of the government – to preserve the city’s heritage and the community’s collective memory – were different.
But the protests were a forerunner of what was to come and should have served as a wake-up call. They were not just about saving the pier. There were, at the time, also pleas for officials to listen to the people, to better gauge public sentiment, to govern more inclusively and to allow young people a say. The pier demonstrations revealed an emerging sense of identity among Hong Kong people. All of these factors contributed to the much bigger, prolonged and far more violent protests of 2019.
Now, the question of what to do with Queen’s Pier has resurfaced. The pier was dismantled to make way for the Central-Wan Chai Bypass and the parts put in storage on Lantau. The government rejected calls for the pier to be reinstated at its original site near City Hall. But Lam pledged in 2009 that it would be rebuilt at a new location on the Central Harbourfront. The plan was to place it between piers nine and 10 in Central by 2013. We are still waiting.
Last week officials revealed that when the pier is finally reassembled it may not even be in Central. This would be a breach of the promise that it would not be installed too far from its historic home.
The pier was given Grade One historical status before its removal although it does not have great architectural significance. The value of the pier lies in people’s memories of it and its historical role.
Demolition U-turn a triumph for heritage-minded public
It is to be hoped, in these politically correct times, that the pier’s colonial associations are not going to be seen by the government as a problem. The pier was constructed in the 1950s on the site of one which had been there since 1925. It was used by governors when visiting Hong Kong. Queen Elizabeth in 1975 and the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1989 stepped onto the pier when arriving in the colony.
But there are other reasons why the pier is important to Hong Kong people. It was built at a time when the harbourside was being developed and opened up for public use. The pier was used by pleasure boats and for tourist trips as well as by VIPs. Many Hongkongers, therefore, have fond memories of Queen’s Pier.
Last week officials revealed that when the pier is finally reassembled it may not even be in Central
The protests in 2007 raised hopes the government would be more sensitive to preserving the city’s heritage. But there have continued to be controversies. Last week, a public outcry led to the halting of demolition work on a unique underground reservoir in Shek Kip Mei, built in 1904. The commissioner for heritage apologised for insensitivity and miscommunication among staff and government engineers. Now, the government says it believes the site should be preserved. Clearly, lessons still need to be learned.
Queen’s Pier belongs in Central. The bypass has now been built and the promise to rebuild the pier on the Central Harbourfront should be kept. Much has happened in Hong Kong since 2007, but on this point at least the government can show it is listening.
