Face the music: Hong Kong's MTR slammed over policy on carriage of large instruments

The registration scheme to carry oversized musical instruments on the MTR reflects a lack of creativity and poor management, damaging the network's reputation and public support, the city's ex-cultural impresario has said.

Darwin Chen Tat-man, who masterminded Hong Kong's cultural landscape after managing City Hall in the 1960s, said the issue with oversized instruments was not about regulations on dimensions but a lack of discretion.

"Many regulations exist but are not executed. There must be a reason why they do it now after tolerating it for so many years," Chen, vice-president of Unesco Hong Kong, said of the MTR's dimension limit on luggage allowed on trains.

"Actually the MTR limit [of total dimensions of 235cm] is more generous than its European counterpart [158cm]. But why is it not a problem there?" he asked.

As a civil servant of 32 years, the former director of cultural services said it was important for senior management to ask the right questions of subordinates to find a solution, such as exercising discretion on regulations.

"Photography is prohibited in City Hall due to copyright, but we can't apply that to a graduation ceremony, can we?" he asked.