Activist to continue with judicial review over Palace Museum plan in Hong Kong despite consultation vow

Lawsuit will be first legal challenge to decision on West Kowloon project

Reading Time:2 minutes

JR Group co-convenor Cary Lo pledges to press on with his judicial review. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 11:45am, 5 Jan 2017Updated: 5:53pm, 5 Jan 2017

A postgraduate law student who filed a judicial review application on Thursday afternoon over the government’s decision to build a local version of Beijing’s Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District said he would proceed with the case despite the administration’s latest decision to seek public views on the plan.

JR Group co-convenor Cary Lo Chun-yu said he still found the government’s decision to build a 10,000 sq m venue for relics from the Beijing museum to be questionable, even though the authority had promised a consultation on the design and exhibition and educational programmes.

In a claim filed with the High Court, the University of Hong Kong student questioned the administration’s failure to hold a public tender before hiring Rocco Yim Sen-kee to be the lead architect.

It was in breach of the general procedures for implementing government projects, he claimed, adding that the irregularity could have led to suspicion of cronyism.

Lo asked the court to order that the authority hold a formal public consultation on the entire project in accordance with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Ordinance.