Hong Kong legislator ‘wrong’ in seeking to scale back protection of Victoria Harbour so more reclamation can go ahead, concern group says
- Lawmaker is putting forward a bill that would significantly reduce the area covered by the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance
- But the organisation that proposed the ordinance notes reclamation can still go ahead along the shore and the law merely ensures it is properly regulated
A concern group that spearheaded a law preserving Victoria Harbour has criticised a legislator’s proposal to scale back those protections and begin new reclamation work along the shore in space-starved Hong Kong.
The Society for Protection of the Harbour said on Monday that the private bill drafted by Alice Mak Mei-kuen of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions was misguided as the law did not ban reclamation work outright and merely better regulated it.
The bill, which the Legislative Council is scheduled to discuss on Tuesday, is aimed at addressing a land shortage that has turned Hong Kong into the most expensive property market in the world. Beijing has repeatedly flagged up the housing crisis as one of the top priorities for the government.
Mak is seeking to overhaul the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, which the society proposed in 1996 and was passed with broad support by Legco the following year. The law initially covered the shore along Central but was expanded in 1999 to apply to all of Victoria Harbour. Mak wants the law to revert back to its original scope.
The society argues that doing so would rob residents of their right to object to reclamation plans and leave 90 per cent of the harbour exposed to permanent damage.
“Our duty is to protect the harbour, but we can’t just rely on our organisation. We also need to rely on the voices of citizens to protect the harbour,” said former society chairman Winston Chu Ka-Sun.