11 green groups slam task force chief for downplaying environmental impact of land reclamation
Stanley Wong Yuen-fai’s comments were ‘in serious conflict’ with his other role as head of the city’s environmental impact watchdog, the groups say, but Wong says he based comments on preliminary studies conducted by the government
Eleven green groups in Hong Kong slammed the head of the land supply task force for downplaying the environmental impact of land reclamation, saying his comments were “in serious conflict” with his leadership of the city’s environmental impact watchdog.
In a statement on Thursday, the groups demanded that Stanley Wong Yuen-fai retract his comments from Tuesday, when he said there would be “no insurmountable impact on [the] environment” if the government were to create 1,400 hectares of land at five proposed coastal sites around Hong Kong.
Wong said that committee members had reached a consensus that to boost land supply, Hong Kong must rely on reclamation.
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He also cited “many benefits” to near-shore reclamation, which had a relatively low cost and would result in larger areas of flat land in proximity to existing infrastructure.
Wong’s remarks were “inappropriate”, “obviously biased”, and lacked “scientific basis”, the green groups charged. Further, they were “in serious conflict” with Wong’s chairmanship of the Advisory Council on the Environment, the statement said.
Founded in 1994, the Council is a principal advisory body on environmental protection and conservation for the government.
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It is a legal requirement for major land reclamation projects to be reviewed and approved by the Environmental Impact Assessment Subcommittee under the Council.