Hong Kong tries to save a bit of its storied past
By Patrick L. Smith International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2006

HONG KONG When Stalin's apparatchiks rewrote history books and airbrushed fallen colleagues out of photos, there was a saying among Soviet citizens: The future is certain, they would jest, it is the past that is not yet clear.

Oddly enough, roughly the same can be said today of this most capitalist of societies. Not quite a decade after the end of British colonial rule and the resumption of Chinese sovereignty, Hong Kong cannot decide what of the past it wants to preserve and what it wants to drop from the picture.

The debate pits preservationists against profit-minded property developers.

At issue now is a complex of government buildings that included Hong Kong's oldest jail and dates from the territory's earliest days as a colony.

Although the last prisoners were released a couple of months ago, no one - not the government, not the property men, not the architects, not the preservationists - knows quite what to do with the place.

It is an awkward moment for a city long dedicated to the newest, tallest, most efficient and most profitable. There is widening concern here over the overall health of a society that has little in the way of collective memory.

"The price for not preserving history is that we will enter the malaise of modernity; there's nothing but 'now,' 'today,'" said Leo Lee Ou-Fan,

a professor at Chinese University. "It's the disease of the present. You get a less coherent society."

Concern for the old, it might be said, is something new in Hong Kong.

During the century and more that this was a port city of transients, full of traders and refugees and home to very few of them, the question of remembering and forgetting never arose. The past always made way for the present; heritage was something people thought about somewhere else.

Now Hong Kong is changing. As nerves have calmed over the resumption of Chinese sovereignty, many of its seven million people consider the territory home and want the sense of rootedness that comes with it.

"For all the years of colonial rule we were very confused about our identity," said Edward Ho, an architect who leads an advisory board that helps the government evaluate potential preservation sites. "We were British but not really, Chinese but not really. This question of establishing our identity has become even more important since the handover in 1997."

Identity may be more important now, but the problem for preservationists is that land values are no less important than they always have been.

The government has not altered a long-standing policy that requires designated heritage sites to be paying propositions. With Covent Garden in London and Boston's Faneuil Hall as models, the intent is to auction off sites to private-sector developers that can turn them into shops, hotels, restaurants or another combination of tourist- attracting facilities.

"We have to balance conservation and economic interests," said Esther Leung, the deputy secretary for home affairs.

In a city dense with glass-and-concrete towers, there are now 80 declared heritage sites.

But the government's policy has brought some of them to peculiar fates by any measure. One Victorian-era police station was saved by the government only to be leased to a supermarket chain.

Official policy proceeded in this fashion until recently. What brought things to a head were plans to recycle a large compound that housed the central police station, the magistracy courts and Victoria Prison, complete with dungeons.

You could call this a monument to colonial efficiency: apprehension, adjudication and incarceration all in one spot. But the two dozen buildings that form the walled quadrangle tell far more than a tale of tropical crime and punishment, which is why the trouble started.

The earliest of the buildings, a cell block, dates from the late 1850s.

Nearby is a police barracks of similar vintage, in full-dress colonial porticos; the magistracy was added in 1914, the police station five years later, and so on until the late 1940s. The compound, in short, is an irreplaceable narrative written in brick, plaster, granite and timber.

"A compound like this is an education in how a city evolved, how people thought and how social values changed," said Alexander Hui Yat- chuen, an architect and a purist in matters of preservation. "For once we have the opportunity to conserve something as a whole, and the whole is where the value lies."

Even a few years ago, Hui's argument would not have earned much more than polite nods. But a routine public consultation led to a cacophony of public protests that stunned all concerned into silence.

There are now no active plans for the site, no fixed guidelines as to how it should be preserved and no developer has tendered for it.

In effect, the territory's past has left it flummoxed.

China, as it often does in Hong Kong affairs, appears to loom in the background. Architects and scholars here say the mainland views buildings like the police station not as architecture but as artifacts of an era it wants Hong Kong to forget about in the name of national pride.

This lends the question of heritage a political tint, these sources say.

"Historical preservation is one expression of civil society's new demand for autonomy," said Leo Lee, the social critic. "Since there is no democracy, it's a proxy for politics."

HK's architectural heritage on display
6 June 2006
South China Morning Post

An exhibition of the cartographic drawings of some of Hong Kong's historical buildings opens at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre today, almost three weeks after it was decided that the Central Market had no preservation value - thus sealing its fate for demolition.

The exhibition, which will run until December 3, comprises cartographic drawings of Hong Kong's historical architecture, many of which are considered to be documents of important historical value.

The drawings and surveys were undertaken by architecture students from various universities in the region, including the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and the University of Hong Kong.

One of the oldest surveys on display features the Tsang Tai-uk hakka village in Sha Tin, which was drawn in 1965.

The exhibition comes at a time when faith in the preservation of Hong Kong's dwindling number of historical buildings is low. But curator Cissy Ho Wing-see insists the drawings are not on display for conservation purposes.

"You can't rely on cartographical drawings alone," she said. "While they're important references when it comes to the historical structure and design, they alone can't help save a building from demolition."

The exhibition will give the public an in-depth look at the composition of older structures of both western and Chinese designs.

The Antiquities Advisory Board decision on May 19 to allow the demolition of the Central Market, built in 1938, was a blow to those who consider heritage to be of great cultural importance.

Of 14 board members, Bernard Lim Wan-fung, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, was one of two who opposed the demolition.

He said the exhibition was a good effort in educating the public about historical buildings, but that it was always preferable to see the real thing.

"You can't replace the buildings themselves, and once they are demolished, all you're left with is a drawing of what once was.

"I do, however, hope that this exhibition encourages people to be more aware of the historical architecture within the city."

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Family tried to save garden years ago They told officials in 1998 tycoon's eden should be preserved
8 July 2006
South China Morning Post

Family members planning to sell the private garden of late tycoon Lee Iu-cheung to a developer told the government eight years ago it was an important cultural heritage site and should be preserved.

In a letter opposing a road-widening project that would encroach on the grounds, the sons and grandchildren of Lee described Dragon Garden as "one of the last remaining treasures" and said that to alter it would "destroy a part of Chinese culture and heritage".

The arguments, put forward by the owners' company, Hongland Investment, in August 1998 mirror those now being advanced by family members and conservationists opposed to the sale.

The letter was written to object to a plan to widen Castle Peak Road, which would have cut into the garden and cause the removal of a fish pond. A footbridge at the garden's main entrance was also planned.

"To alter Dragon Garden or any part of it is to destroy a part of Chinese culture and heritage, preserved by the Lee family for four generations since its birth 50 years ago," the company wrote in a three-page letter.

"Dragon Garden is truly one of the last remaining treasures in Hong Kong which offers us a glimpse into the old Hong Kong and also the cultural heritage derived from China. It only seems fitting that Dragon Garden be preserved as an example that the old and the new can exist side by side."

It also stressed the project would greatly damage the site's fung shui and thus affect the present and future generations of the family.

The objection failed and the work went ahead. But the government promised to compensate the family for the loss of trees by planting new ones nearby.

"It is just so ironic," said Albert Chan Wai-yip, a lawmaker representing New Territories West. "I hope the family members who are selling this pretty place can understand that money does not mean everything. Sometimes the family's reputation is more important."

John Lee Yuen-hong, a grandson of the tycoon and a director of Hongland Investment who initiated the $130 million sale, was not available for comment last night.

The sale of the 8 hectare garden, first built in 1948, now looks set to be completed on Monday despite opposition from some family members.

Cynthia Lee Hong-yee, a granddaughter who launched the public appeal early this week, said they were still lobbying the family members to cancel the deal. "We will not give up until the last minute."

Lister Cheung Lai-ping, chief executive of the Conservancy Association, which is campaigning to save the garden, said the government should have done something to conserve the site when it received the letter.

"The government missed a golden chance to preserve this place when the family all agreed the garden was a cultural heritage," she said.

"But it is still not too late if the government can intervene and stop the sale."

A senior home affairs official reiterated that the government would not intervene in the sale.

"The government cannot buy back a private heritage without having a policy or mechanism on conservation. The consequences will be serious - many owners of heritage sites will come to the government and ask for money," the official said.

Legacy in limbo
The complex issues surrounding heritage buildings in Hong Kong mean many historic structures are left vacant.
Critics accuse the government of dragging its feet over formulating policy
14 July 2006
South China Morning Post

Shamshuipo is hardly the most well-heeled district in Hong Kong, but in the centre of this relatively impoverished area sits a classic four-storey building. Passersby often wonder about the story behind this newly refurbished structure on the corner of Lai Chi Kok and Tong Mi roads - and why it remains empty.

Lui Seng Chun, one of Hong Kong's oldest Chinese tenement buildings and the former home of Lui Leung, a Kowloon Motor Bus founder, was built in 1931 by local architect W.H. Bourne, combining the best of east and west in its design. The ground floor used to house Lui's Chinese medicine shop, while he and his family lived on the upper floors. His descendants were still living there as recently as the 1980s.

The Lui family donated the site to the government in October 2003 and the historic building has since become a structure highlighting the problems concerning conservation of building heritage in Hong Kong.

The building has been left vacant since restoration works were completed last summer. The Antiquities and Monuments Office said a consultancy study was being conducted on the best use for the historic shop-house, with a consultation exercise to be held later. A Chinese herbal tea company has proposed turning the place into an exhibition centre displaying the city's oldest brands, but the plan is still being studied by the authorities. All this means the block will be empty for at least a few more months.

"It's not easy to find a solution," said a senior home affairs official, who declined to be named. "We had considered converting it into an elderly home but the staircase is just too steep for seniors. Making it a shopping place is not really feasible because it's located in a low-income district."

Albert Lai Kwong-tat, a director of the Conservancy Association, said the problems with heritage conservation in Hong Kong were so bad that "while many historic buildings are knocked down for redevelopments, those saved from demolition are just left vacant".

The uncertainty surrounding potential heritage sites in Hong Kong was drawn into focus by the recent controversy over Dragon Garden, an eight-hectare waterfront garden on Castle Peak Road, built in 1948 and said to be one of the largest and most beautiful private gardens in Hong Kong.

Designed by renowned architect Chu Pin, who was involved in the restoration of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the garden is covered with hundreds of species of trees and flowers, as well as ponds, footpaths, bridges and architecture of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. The garden was saved at the eleventh hour from being sold to a developer earlier this week.

There are many historic buildings standing empty in the city. The police station on High Street, built in 1935, has not been used since Hong Kong Island's crime unit moved out of the premises last winter. The site is now managed by the Lands Department, but no plan has yet been formulated on how to fill the space.

Also empty is the North Kowloon Magistracy in Shamshuipo. Built in the 1960s, it has not been used for almost two years after a court services consolidation exercise. Another court house, the Western Magistracy, is filled but is now used as offices of the Water Supplies Department, since only a few departments expressed interest in the 1950s structure. And in the ultimate comedown, the old Stanley Police Station, built in 1859, has been rented out by the government as a supermarket.

The plan to transform the historic Central Police Station compound into a new entertainment and retail hub is still on hold after more than two years of debate and argument between the government and conservationists.

The compound consists of the former Central Police Station, magistrates' court and Victoria Prison. In April 2003, the site was earmarked for tourism-related restoration and development, with 17 of the 27 buildings in the complex to be preserved. But public pressure to conserve the entire compound forced the government to postpone tendering, scheduled in 2004, for its redevelopment and launch a community consultation. So far, the plan is still under review and the government has not come up with a new timetable.

It seems that more historic buildings will be left idle if nothing is done. A police source said the force would vacate the Yau Ma Tei and Shamshuipo police stations in the next few years since the structures could no longer cope with the need for technology and fittings.

Vincent Ng Wing-shun, vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, was not surprised by the situation. "It should be easy to fill the space. There are many companies and non-government organisations thatare keen to move into these special structures. They will be hot potatoes if they're released to the public," he said.

"But putting new wine into an old bottle is not that easy. There are a lot of problems. In most cases, these old blocks would not fit with today's buildings regulations. For example, the staircases are too narrow, the railings are not tall enough, and there are not enough fire exits.

"So turning these buildings into restaurants or shops means you have to make a lot of alterations, but this may damage the building's architectural or historical value. You can make these places into museums, but there are too many museums and not that many exhibits in town."

But Mr Lai, from the Conservancy Association, said the key problem was the lack of heritage policy in Hong Kong. "There were cases where heritage sites were conserved and put to good use," he said, citing the old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital in Western District that was converted into a community centre and the Kom Tong Hall in Central, which will become the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum next year.

"The former Marine Police Headquarters is also being transformed into a hotel, even though many trees there have been chopped during the alterations," Mr Lai said.

"But these projects are piecemeal and all done by the government. So, every time a heritage site is put to some adaptive use, there are debates and controversy because the community is not much involved in the decision-making process. Officials are then exhausted and hesitate to do much even if people donate a heritage structure to the government."

Mr Lai said a new trust fund, managed by the community but supported by the government, was needed to take up the job. "Such a body can conserve and maintain these buildings and put them into adaptive uses under a transparent consultation process. This can minimise arguments and debates and reduce the government's workload," he said. "Of course, this requires a new heritage policy and mechanism, and more importantly, determination from the government to do something."

The government, meanwhile, has been studying the issue for a long time. The Home Affairs Bureau issued a consultation document in February 2004, which covered a wide range of issues from how to preserve government and private heritage sites, to how to maintain these structures and put them to good use. But no policy has yet been formulated. The bureau told lawmakers a couple of months ago that the issue was so complicated that more time was needed.

"[Policy making] is easier said than done," said the senior home affairs official. "Many heritage sites are owned by a government property agency or the Lands Department, which is not under our bureau, and they don't have a mandate to conserve them.

"Our land policy is also very traditional and old-fashioned. A lot of people have suggested a land exchange mechanism as a way to preserve private heritage, but this is pretty difficult. And if you put a site to a particular use, officials from the treasury will ask, quite rightly, whether that is value for money.

"So, is the public ready to pay a lot of funds to conserve old buildings? It will take some time before any policy is formulated, simply because many of the issues involve other departments."

But Lee Ho-yin, programme director of the architectural conservation programme at the University of Hong Kong, said the government must speed up its work.

"The authorities should now seize the opportunity brought by the Dragon Garden in Sham Tseng, now saved by some family members with a trust fund that's just been set up. They should at least get them some support to maintain this beautiful landscape, and then push the new policy forward," he said.

"People's awareness has been raised a lot in the past few years after repeated campaigns to save structures from demolition. We should not see these old structures like antiquities just for display, we have to put them to good use."

View from the Botanical Garden, looking north to Kowloon. On the waterfront, the building with the rotunda is the Old Supreme Court, begun about 1906 and completed 1911 or 1912. Picture is of Central District from 1912

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Victoria Peak, about 1912
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Hong Kong Botanical Garden 1912
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This house stood in the district of Tsim Cha Tsui, Kowloon, on Chatham Road S., between Prat Ave. and Cameron Rd. View is north, with the Gun Club Barracks in the distance.

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Heritage body out to stop the greed
Leslie Kwoh
Hong Kong Standard
Saturday, July 22, 2006

Conservationists have called on the government to set up an independent statutory body to oversee heritage preservation, in line with the community's growing desire to see such assets "returned to the people."

Heritage Hong Kong, a new concern group, said it is working on a proposal to establish a conservation policy and statutory foundation to rescue from commercial development sites such as the former Central Police Station, Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison compound.

"It is not the government's right to demolish or redevelop heritage sites, nor should the government profit from these sites," said founder and property surveyor Margaret Brooke. "We need to stop the greed."

Currently, conservation rests in the hands of the Antiquities and Monuments Office.

But Brooke said the government's tendency to see heritage as secondary to commercial revenue necessitates the creation of an authority that can "draw the line.

"We can't have the people saying one thing, and the government doing another.

"By the time most countries reach our level of sophistication, they've established a conservation policy."

England's National Trust, for instance, is an independent charity with the unique statutory power to declare land inalienable. It has acquired more than 248,000 hectares of countryside, 1,126 kilometers of coastline and more than 200 historical monuments.

Conservancy Association director Albert Lai Kwong-tat said such a trust is needed to reduce the government's workload and involve the community in decision-making. It would ideally be managed by the community but supported by the government, and abide by an overarching heritage policy. This would put an end to the government's "piecemeal" approach and save a lot of debate and controversy.

Brooke said she hopes Heritage Hong Kong can grow to play a similar role.

In cases like the police station, a charity would propose to rent the site and cover all its maintenance fees because "the bottom line is the government does not want to deal with the maintenance costs for that site, but it also can't demolish it," she said.

Plans to transform the site into a commercial and retail center have been on hold since 2003, when the government revealed it intended to set aside 17 of the 27 buildings for preservation. Ensuing public pressure to preserve the entire site forced officials to postpone the tendering process.

The debate continues, with Heritage Hong Kong last month submitting to the Town Planning Board a zoning amendment to prevent the site from being transformed into a haven for fast-food shops and convenience stores.

The board currently proposes all eating establishments be regrouped into an "always-permitted" category. This means firms requiring the board's approval - like McDonald's, KFC and 7-Eleven - will all be permitted without undergoing consultation. It is part of a territory- wide "streamlining" of the zoning process that began in 2003, according to district planning officer Christine Tse Kin-chin.

While admitting it would effectively allow for fast-food shops at the historical complex, she said: "It's happened in many other zoning plans as well."

As a rule, the Planning Department consults the antiquities office on all "old buildings," defined as pre-1960s, she said.

Beyond that, details such as the number, type and layout of eating establishments at a site would be up to the tenderers and the Tourism Commission, not the Planning Department.

Brooke said with so many locals rallying to preserve the site, the government may be hard-pressed to find tenderers. "The more controversial a project becomes, the less likely developers are to take it on. They don't want to upset their shareholders," she said.

"Maybe 10 years ago people would have remained silent. But now young people are returning from living overseas and they're seeing how Hong Kong compares with other places that are preserving their heritage. Hong Kong's not just a big business center anymore, it's a home."

The board is expected to return its decision on the amendment next month. The group plans to submit its proposal for a statutory authority to the Legislative Council by year-end.

Historic buildings left empty for lack of ideas
Ng Kang-chung
6 October 2006
South China Morning Post

Two historic buildings in Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei have been left empty because officials have failed to decide what to do with the sites despite a series of studies.

Lui Seng Chun building in Mong Kok, one of the oldest tenement buildings in the city, has been vacant for three years, while the Yau Ma Tei Theatre has been since its closure eight years ago. Both have been classified historical buildings and are under the management of the Antiquities and Monuments Office.

At yesterday's meeting of Yau Tsim Mong District Council's community building committee, members were told there was no plan for the cinema. But officials promised some ideas could be released for public consultation on what to do with the Lui Seng Chun building by the end of the year.

Antiquities and Monuments Office senior manager Richie Lam Kok-sing said: "A consultancy report is being finalised. It should be ready by December and then we shall seek the views of the public on what its best use should be."

Committee member and council chairman Henry Chan Man-yu accused the government of dragging its feet.

"I do not understand why it is so difficult to think of a use. If you do not know, ask the public, ask the local residents, but not the consultants. You are wasting a good historic site by leaving it idle," he said.

Built in 1931, Lui Seng Chun is the former home of Lui Leung, a founder of Kowloon Motor Bus. The ground floor housed the Luis' Chinese medicine shop, while the family lived upstairs until the 1980s.

Moving out and leaving the block vacant for two decades, the family donated the site to the government in 2003. Nothing had been done since except some maintenance work, despite the studies.

Committee member David Lau Chi-wing asked Mr Lam what the office had done with the Yau Ma Tei Theatre over the past eight years. "What we now see is a block in a horrible white colour. The interior condition is as poor as before. Is this what your office meant by maintaining historic blocks?"

Mr Lam said the government wanted a long-term plan for use of the cinema and thinking up long-term plans would take time.

New York model call on heritage
Leslie Kwoh
Hong Kong Standard
Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Local heritage conservationists want a New York-style buildings heritage body, saying our present system favors economic benefit over preservation.
"For the past three or four decades we have experienced rapid development, but the price we have paid is we are losing our historical buildings," Civic Party lawmaker Alan Leong Kah- kit said. "We really need what they have in New York City."

In a videoconference call with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Thursday, Leong appealed to US officials for help in saving Hong Kong's historic buildings. The conference comes at a time when the government is preparing to demolish the famous Star Ferry clock tower and allow fast-food shops to be set up in the Central Police Station.

A flurry of urban renewal projects planned for Kwun Tong and Wan Chai are also under fire for placing development over heritage objectives.

"We're looking at historical districts in a totally different light than [New York's], where our mentality is: `Send in the bulldozers, build newer buildings'," said Leong, who is also an Urban Renewal Authority member.

During the conference, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission chairman Robert Tierney said the body has preserved nearly 23,000 sites since its establishment in 1965 - including the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Grand Central Station. By contrast, Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office has declared 80 landmarks.

The New York commission considers for preservation all buildings over 30 years old, whereas Hong Kong generally does not consider a building until it is 60 or 65. Thus the Star Ferry Clock Tower, now 49 years old, does not qualify as "historical."

A recent study commissioned from an independent consultant found that historical buildings actually add value to nearby properties because people trust that the "look and feel" of the neighborhood will be preserved.

As for pressure from landowners, Tierney admitted there was a good deal, but said the independent nature of the commission strengthened it. Over 99 percent of the New York landmarks are private property, he said, but land owners are given options to transfer development rights elsewhere.

Those still unwilling to comply with a commission decision face a losing battle because the owner's consent is not required by law.

"In regulating private property, every decision has its benefits and burdens. But government can't function if everyone is entitled to maximum economic benefit," commission general counsel Mark Silberman said.

Ancestral hall scoops UN conservation award
Restoration a model for other heritage work, says minister
6 December 2006
South China Morning Post

A restored 168-year-old ancestral hall in Sheung Shui has become one of the nine winners worldwide of this year's UN culture heritage conservation awards.

The Qing dynasty-styled Liu Ying Lung Study Hall, built in 1838 at Po Sheung village, won an honourable mention for its excellent restoration work.

A total of 36 projects from 11 countries in the region had bid for the 2006 Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.

Hong Kong's St Andrew's Church won an award of merit.

Unesco regional cultural adviser Richard Engelhardt said that the jury of the awards had described the study hall as "a valuable learning experience about architecture restoration as well as the community's heritage roots".

"The study hall, completed with conserved murals and vernacular architectural details, now serves as a fitting backdrop for reviving communal social functions and rituals, which recognised the project's merit," he said.

The building was originally used for worshipping ancestors of the Liu clan in the New Territories.

It later served as a meeting place and an educational institution to teach Chinese classics to local children before being turned into a kindergarten in the 1980s, which resulted in damage to the building.

In 2003, villagers decided to restore it as part of the Tai Ping Ching Chiu festival, held once every 60 years.

At a cost of about HK$5 million, the restorers replaced termite-damaged wood and eroded bricks, and removed several coats of paint that had disguised the hall's original appearance.

Antiquity protection experts from Hong Kong and Guangdong were involved in the work.

Liu Fu-sau, a member of the village restoration committee, said: "Every one of us has contributed to this project. To revive the hall's original look, we collected over 10,000 old green bricks in the area in order to replace the damaged ones.

"We believe the brand new hall will definitely enhance our community spirit of the Liu clan."

Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping, who attended the awards ceremony, said the joint efforts of residents and the government could serve as a model for future conservation work in the city.

Council runs jail tours in bid to save historic Central complex
6 December 2006
South China Morning Post

Nine thousand people will get a glimpse of life behind bars over three weekends next month as part of a campaign to save the historic Central Police Station complex from commercial redevelopment.

Trained guides will lead visitors on tours of the 150-year-old Victoria Prison, organised by the Central and Western District Council, explaining daily prison life and demonstrating prisoners' tasks.

Democratic Party district councillor Kam Nai-wai said it was hoped the open days would boost the public's knowledge of and respect for the city's heritage, and show the government that turning the heritage site into a commercial project was not the only solution.

The cluster of buildings on the Hollywood Road site - the prison, the Central Police Station and the Central Magistracy - have been declared monuments, which protects them from demolition.

It had been planned to call for tenders to redevelop the site commercially, but protests forced the government to reopen the consultation. No decision has been made.

"We hope the public will join us to persuade the government none of the buildings should be demolished," Mr Kam said.

Henderson Land general manager for sales Tony Tse Wai-chuen said: "Development doesn't equal demolition. The most important thing is the historic buildings will have economic value. Preservation shouldn't rely on public coffers."

Henderson Land and Town Gas put up HK$100,000 to sponsor the open days.

The prison will be open on January 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21. Tickets are available at www.hkticketing.com or by phone at 3128 8288. Tickets are HK$25 but Central and Western District students can buy tickets for HK$20 at the Caritas Centre.

LCQ14: Rating of historical buildings
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Government Press Release

Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr Patrick Ho, in the Legislative Council today (December 6):

Question:

It has been reported that buildings must be at least 50 years old in order to be considered for classification as historical buildings. As it has only been 48 years since the opening of the Star Ferry Pier in Central in 1958, the Pier is not eligible to be classified as a historical building. However, some members of the public, after looking up the relevant information, have pointed out that in fact the Pier officially opened in 1957. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the minimum years of history required for a building to be considered for classification as a historical building; whether the commencement or completion date of the works concerned or the opening date of the building is used as the basis for calculating its years of history, and whether such calculation method is prescribed in any internal guidelines of the Government; if so, of the details and whether the relevant documents may be made public; if such calculation method is not prescribed in any guidelines, the reasons for that;

(b) whether it knows the respective commencement and completion dates of the works for the eastern and western arms of the Star Ferry Pier in Central, and their opening dates; and

(c) whether it will re-consider classifying the Star Ferry Pier in Central as a historical building so that it will be protected by the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap. 53); if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) Pursuant to Section 3 of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap. 53), the Antiquities Authority may, after consultation with the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) and with the approval of the Chief Executive, by notice in the Gazette, declare any place, building, site or structure, which the Authority considers to be of public interest by reason of its historical, archaeological or palaeontological significance to be a monument. The minimum years of history of a building is not a statutory requirement for declaration as a monument under the Ordinance.

The AAB has adopted a grading system for assessing the heritage value of historical buildings. The grading criteria comprises a series of factors including the historical significance and architectural merits of the building, and its association with important event(s) and person(s), as well as its social value. The Board will, on the basis of these criteria, assess whether a building qualifies to be a declared monument and may recommend so to the Government. As for the other historical buildings which are not yet qualified to be declared monuments, the Board would rate their heritage values according to the following grading system -

Grade I buildings are those of outstanding merit, which every effort should be made to preserve if possible;
Grade II buildings are those of special merit; efforts should be made to selectively preserve; and
Grade III buildings are those of some merit, but not yet qualified for consideration as monuments. These are to be recorded and used as a pool for future selection.

The grading system, which has no statutory authority, serves as general heritage assessment guidelines for the Board and the Government.

(b) Construction of the Star Ferry Pier in Central commenced in October 1955 and was completed in March 1957. The pier was opened in December 1957.

(c) The Government conducted a built heritage impact assessment for the Central Reclamation Phase III (CRIII) in 2001. Having assessed the impact of the CRIII project on the Star Ferry Pier, the report recommended to reprovision the Star Ferry Pier at the new Central Ferry Piers. The Star Ferry Pier is neither a declared monument nor a graded historical building on the basis of its heritage value. As such, it would not be preserved in-situ. In March 2002, the AAB deliberated on the recommendation of the assessment report and had no objection to the reprovisioning arrangement. Against this background, we would not re-consider declaring the Star Ferry Pier as a monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

We understand that there are views in the community that the Star Ferry Pier should be preserved so as to preserve its collective memory. In the context of the Central Reclamation Urban Design Study undertaken by the Planning Department, the Government would consider, from an urban planning perspective, how to incorporate the special features of the Star Ferry Pier in the design of the new Central harbourfront. In addition, the major features of the Star Ferry Pier have been recorded and stored as 3D images through an advanced laser scanning technology by the Civil Engineering and Development Department. The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO), together with other relevant government departments, will be taking photographic record on the structural features of the Pier. AMO is also exploring whether it is feasible to preserve some of the historical items of the Pier, so that these items may be considered for display in future.

South China Morning Post
December 8, 2006 Friday
Blue House families in final fight to stay

Residents of the historic Blue House in Wan Chai are fighting a last-ditch battle for the right to stay in their homes.

Together with social workers, they mounted a protest yesterday in front of the building on Stone Nullah Lane against the government's redevelopment plan for the area, proposed earlier this year.

"People are the real spirit of this old area," said Laurence Lam Kwok-wai, a senior officer of social welfare group St James' Settlement. "The district will be turned into a soulless place if the government denies their right to stay."

About 30 families live in the Blue House. The government has offered to relocate them to public estates.

"As far as we know, at least one third of the families don't want to move out," Mr Lam said.

The 80-year-old Blue House is one of the last surviving balconied tenements and is listed as a grade-one historical building by the Antiquities Advisory Board.

The government is proposing that the four-storey structure, and the adjacent Yellow House, be refurbished and the nearby Orange House demolished. The Blue House would house a museum of tea and Chinese medicine.

The proposal by the Urban Renewal Authority and the Housing Society will be discussed today by the Town Planning Board.

So Leung, 77, has lived with his wife in the Blue House for three years to be close to his daughter.

"We are too old to be able to adapt to a new place," he said. "The reason that I moved into this flat is because it is near my daughter's home. What will I do if they arrange to have me live in a public house far away?"

A hospital - the first in Wan Chai to provide Chinese medicine to residents - occupied the site of the Blue House in the 19th century. The neighbourhood has a history of involvement in the tea trade.

Pier battle throws light on landmarks
Hong Kong Standard
Jonathan Cheng
Monday, December 18, 2006

The clock tower may have come down, but preservationists continued to fire shots at the government for a heritage policy whose callousness, they say, was fully exposed by the weekend's destruction of the old Star Ferry pier in Central.

A day after a construction team dismantled the 49-year-old tower and loaded it on to a barge, Democratic Party chairman Lee Wing-tat snapped at Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam- kuen, calling the administration "too numb to recognize the values of memories, history and culture."

"Can you not see the apparent consensus by the people to preserve our common memories, our history and our culture?" Lee said Sunday on Radio Television Hong Kong, addressing his question directly to Tsang.

Alan Leong Kah-kit, who is challenging Tsang in March's chief executive election, also criticized the government for destroying the pier and for putting greater value on money than on responding to public sentiment.

The Star Ferry pier saga has been brewing for months, but only began making headlines after preservationists took their protests in a more aggressive direction last week.

For days, television screens were dominated by images of protesters storming the ferry pier site, waving banners from the top of a construction vehicle and being hauled off by police.

Sunday provided plenty of evidence that anger has begun spilling over into other causes, with legislators and district council members seizing the public mood and drawing attention to other landmarks they say are worthy of protecting.

Kam Nai-wai, a district council member in Central and Western District, said the Star Ferry episode had taught Hong Kong "important lessons" about fighting the demolition of the city's historic landmarks.

Kam plans to take the fight to one section of Victoria Prison, Hong Kong's first jail. While most of the prison, located in the pricey Mid-Levels area, dates back 160 years and has been designated for preservation, one section of the prison - the F building, built in 1931 - is slated for destruction by property developers, since it was deemed to lack historical value.

Kam said his district council had already passed a motion to preserve the building, but claims the government has ignored those petitions.

And then there is a looming fight over an old police station and jade market in Yau Ma Tei that is being threatened by the planned Central Kowloon Route, which will come up for debate tomorrow at the Legislative Council's public works subcommittee of the Finance Committee.

Some legislators have warned government officials not to repeat the Star Ferry mistake by proceeding without providing full transparency and a chance for citizens to have a say in the fate of those buildings.

There is also the possibility of a fight over the Star Ferry's neighboring Queen's Pier, which received Queen Elizabeth II during her visits to Hong Kong. That site is set to be demolished to make way for the same highway that the Star Ferry pier has been cleared for.

Though a number of other city sites were discussed Sunday, the focus for the time being was still centered on the Star Ferry pier battle.

Lee, the Democratic Party lawmaker, interpreted the whole fiasco as a product of an arrogant administration that ignored public opinion.

"It is time the government came down off its high horse and be with the people," Lee said. "We, the people of Hong Kong, do not want the demolition of our clock tower in the Central Star Ferry pier. The clock tower is our history, our culture, and our memories."

Deputy Director of Planning Ophelia Wong Yuen-sheung went on RTHK's City Forum to defend the destruction of the old clock tower, saying the government had given the decision a sufficient consultation period.

Wong also pledged to preserve the character of the tower in the new harborfront park that planners are developing.

Speaking on the same program, Patrick Lau Sau-shing, who represents architects, surveyors and planners in Legco, admitted there was room for improvement in the administration's handling of the Star Ferry fiasco.

He called on the government to preserve traditional culture and help citizens better understand the city planning process in Hong Kong.

Albert Lai Kwong-tak, chairman of the Council for Sustainable Development, said the decision to demolish the pier was purely "political" - that it had nothing to do with technical or planning difficulties.

Hunger strikers at the Star Ferry site, meanwhile, said they were incensed by the possibility that the tower's remains may be used for reclaiming more of the harbor, as some reports claim.

Wong Ho-yin, one of the protesters, demanded an apology from the government, accusing officials of ignoring public sentiment and rejecting requests to redevelop the ferry pier in a "democratic" manner.

Wong and his fellow protesters vowed to finish their hunger strike at 2am today - a 49-hour strike to match the clock tower's 49-year history.

They marched Sunday evening from the ferry site to SAR government headquarters in Central, and demanded to see the chief executive. Police were on hand to keep an eye on the estimated 200 marchers.

Heritage trust planned to protect historic sites
Proposal part of review that could see overloaded policy bureaus divided
2 January 2007
South China Morning Post

The government is considering setting up a heritage trust to help preserve key cultural sites, in response to heightened public concern about historic buildings following the demolition of the Star Ferry terminal, government sources say.

They say establishing the trust would be considered as part of a review of the government's entire bureaucracy during Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's next term of office, which is expected to start in July.

The existing set-up of 13 policy bureaus, introduced by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, has been criticised for imposing a heavy workload on some policy secretaries, including the secretary for home affairs.

The review would focus on two bureaus which are considered to have a particularly heavy workload - the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau (ETWB) and the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau (HWFB), the sources said. The ETWB would have its portfolio divided between two bureaus, one on environmental policy and the other on transport and public works. The HWFB would be divided into a bureau covering health and food-related issues, and another on welfare, labour and poverty issues.

As for the Home Affairs Bureau, the sources said the government favoured setting up a trust to handle heritage sites. Apart from relieving the bureau of this burden, the trust, as a non-government body, would have greater flexibility in dealing with heritage issues.

"Setting up a heritage trust would make way for more responsiveness towards public concerns over the preservation of heritage buildings," said one of the sources.

At present, the bureau covers a wide array of policy areas ranging from discrimination to cultural development, district affairs to youth development and religious affairs.

"Areas like the racial discrimination, equal opportunities, protection of personal data, and so on will likely be carried out by another bureau," a government source said.

The source added that these responsibilities might be picked up by the Constitutional Affairs Bureau, which is responsible for the Legislative Council, district councils and the chief executive elections.

Public concerns about protecting heritage landmarks were heightened by the demolition of the former Star Ferry pier in Central last month, when protesters occupied the site. The protest prompted Mr Tsang to make a commitment, in an RTHK programme, to review heritage conservation policy.

Commenting on the proposals, Ada Wong Ying-kay, chairwoman of the Institute of Contemporary Culture, said it would be better to empower an existing advisory body, like the Antiquities Advisory Board, than create a new trust.

From news.gov.hk:
Gov't open minded on heritage preservation (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070106/html/070106en05005.htm)

Gov't Press Releases:
Government to launch consultations on built heritage conservation policy (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200701/08/P200701080232.htm)

Appointments to Antiquities Advisory Board (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200701/08/P200701080234.htm)

Here is the official listing:
http://www.amo.gov.hk/form/historical.pdf

I just glanced throught the list quick. It's interesting to see how many structures are inside the country parks, former barracks, temples and no man islands. There aren't much in the urban areas and most of them are privately owned. I doubt those private buildings will be protected unless the government purchase the buildings from the owner a whole lot of money.

Wasn't Hwa Par Mansion in Tai Hang taken down already?? Why is it still up on the list??

so does the list include all declared monuments and historical buildings?I can't find Sam Tung Uk Museum in Tsuen Wan on the list.

so does the list include all declared monuments and historical buildings?I can't find Sam Tung Uk Museum in Tsuen Wan on the list.

What a careless mistake within the PDF!!! :bash: :bash: :bash: The Offical Website DOES HAVE this decleared monument!!! :ohno:

Sam Tung Uk Village (http://www.amo.gov.hk/en/monuments_10.php)

RTHK news:
No plan to use taxpayers' money to buy declared heritage sites 2007-01-09 HKT 19:14

The Secretary for Home Affairs, Patrick Ho, says the government does not plan to use taxpayers' money to buy privately owned buildings that are declared heritage sites. This emerged after the government announced that a consultation exercise would start later this month on heritage policy. Separately, the administration released a list of 496 historic buildings, 212 of which are owned privately. Dr Ho also said that it was impractical to halt the demolition of Queen's Pier, as reclamation work had already begun.

Since most of those private site locate at prime locations in the city, I doubt the owner can covert just one builiding into an attraction and will make more money than sell it to any developer. The governemnt should at least consider the public opinion on a specific private site before the firm decision of a "NO" for purchasing.

Wasn't Hwa Par Mansion in Tai Hang taken down already?? Why is it still up on the list??

It still exist! You may check it on the Centamap! ;)

PS, it should be Haw Par Mansion.

Weren't they planning to redevelop parts of the Tiger Balm Garden?

RTHK news:
Ruins found from former Governor's summer residence on the Peak (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20070110/news_20070110_56_370368.htm)


http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/engnews_index/index_photo/1168432727.jpg

The former Governor's summer residence on the Peak, built in 1902 and pulled down in 1946.

Saving the past to enrich our future
(SCMP) 01月 08日 星期一 00:03AM

The thrust of the consultation on heritage conservation to be announced by the government today should focus on ways to measure collective memory, preserve entire historic neighbourhoods or districts, and adapt buildings to modern use, conservationists said.

It should also initiate a debate on setting up an independent body with legal power to advise the government on conservation policies.


"Consensus has been formed after the first stage of the consultation on collective memory, conserving a street and an area as a whole, and the need to come up with practical methods to make heritage attractive to the public," said Greg Wong Chak-yan, a government heritage adviser since 2005.

Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping said the long-awaited consultation, the first stage of which was completed in mid-2004, would be released this week. A report on the result of the first consultation was published in November 2004.

Dr Ho had promised a second consultation paper in 2005 but that did not materialise until now due to the issue's complexity.

Officials had planned to launch the second consultation in the middle of this year but a public outcry against the Star Ferry pier's demolition forced the government to bring it forward.

Mr Wong said the coming discussion should be about how to measure collective memory and how to preserve an area and set up buffer zones. He cited Beijing's Forbidden City, where no high rises were allowed in its immediate area to preserve the atmosphere of the neighbourhood.

He also said it was time to discuss who should run preserved buildings - the private sector, the government or society.

Albert Lai Kwong-tak, a vice-chairman of the Civic Party, said the consultation should look at ways of revamping the antiquities protection system so it is an open and independent body with legal power.

"The Antiquities Advisory Board is controlled by the government. It is non-transparent. The situation must change. The board should also protect intangible heritage," he said. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, intangible heritage - which can be stories, songs and knowledge - should be regarded as the larger framework within which tangible heritage takes on shape and significance. It is fragile by its very nature because it centres on people, social and environmental conditions that are not subject to rapid changes.


The 2004 consultation paper admitted heritage conservation had been ad hoc and the law was rigid. It said the current focus was on single buildings, rather than on streets or neighbourhoods.

"This made it difficult, if not impossible, to conserve a whole street or neighbourhood," it said.

It asked the public to comment on whether heritage that formed part of the community's collective memory should be preserved. It also asked if a street or an area should be preserved if it was associated with people's collective memory and traditional ways of life.

The public was also invited to comment on how preserved buildings could be used.

What should be the focus of the second consultation on heritage conservation policy? Send your comments to .

Historic buildings are safe, insists Home Affairs chief
(SCMP) 01月 09日 星期二 00:03AM

The Home Affairs chief has brushed aside concerns that the listing of 496 historic buildings for public inspection will tempt developers to hasten the demolition of structures in private hands.

"Any demolition plan needs to get the Buildings Department's approval," Patrick Ho Chi-ping said.

"If anyone wants to demolish any historic buildings in the city, the government will know and intervene."

The government uploaded information about the buildings to the website of the Antiquities and Monuments Office last night in response to the continuing public outcry against the demolition of the Star Ferry pier in Central last month.

Concerns were prompted because none of the buildings has legal protection from demolition since none is among the 80 declared monuments that enjoy protection.


Of the 496 listed buildings, 232 are government properties, 218 are in private hands, 21 are temples and 25 belong to the Urban Renewal Authority.

They include 117 grade one buildings, 185 grade two buildings and 194 grade three buildings.

Grade one is the closest to becoming a monument but does not legally protect a building from destruction.

The Bauhaus-style Central Market, a grade three building, is on the government's land application list. Any developer who meets the government's reserve price can trigger an auction for it.

Lee Ho-yin, director of the University of Hong Kong's architectural conservation programme, was confident that recent public sentiment about protecting heritage sites meant that the 218 buildings in private hands would be safe from demolition. "Public pressure is the best protection for these buildings," he said.

But he called on the government to improve the system by listing all 496 graded buildings as "Buildings of Architectural Interest".


"Many buildings in Hong Kong are functional buildings, they have not reached the status of monument but they are architecturally important," he said.

"We can learn from Macau and Singapore to add a new protection category, specifying conservation such as the fa蓷de and permitting a limited degree of development, such as allowing new structures behind the fa蓷de but imposing height restrictions."



Worth saving?


Kau Yan Church, at the junction of High Street and Third Street in Western District, is one of the oldest churches in Hong Kong. The present structure was built in 1932.


Lui Seng Chun, one of the city's oldest Chinese tenement buildings and the former home of Lui Leung, a Kowloon Motor Bus founder, was built in 1931 by local architect W.H. Bourne. The ground floor used to house Lui's Chinese medicine shop. The family lived on the upper floors. Lui's descendants lived there up to the 1980s. The family donated the historic Prince Edward building to the government in 2003. It has been vacant since restoration in 2004. The Antiquities and Monuments Office said a consultancy was continuing on the best use of the shop-house. It is a grade one building.


St Louis School at Third Street, Western, was built in 1927. It is a grade three building.


The Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Caine Road was completed in 1888. It is a grade one building. An imposing gothic revival style built in a Greek cruciform shape with a tower at the intersection of the nave and transepts, it is built predominantly of bricks and stone over a granite platform and is supported by external buttresses. The 2002 renovation of the cathedral won an honourable mention in the 2003 Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.

RTHK news:
CE warns heritage preservation musn't be at expense of development 2007-01-28 HKT 09:13


The chief executive, Donald Tsang, has warned that heritage preservation must not be pursued at the expense of development. Speaking on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong, Mr Tsang said he empathised with those who wanted to preserve sites that were part of their collective memory. However, he said that Hong Kong could lose out to regional rivals if it did not maintain investment in infrastructure.The chief executive noted that a consultation exercise was now underway on heritage preservation - and he urged people to speak out on the issue.

The Whole Speech from The Letter to Hong Kong (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200701/28/P200701260091.htm)

Countless cities can succeed with preservation. London has a lot of history yet can still survive in today's modern competitive environment. Just because the government can't find a happy medium with the developers doesn't mean the rest of the city has to suffer from a smash and rebuild movement.

The government really needs to get out of its old narrow vision on redevelopment. It still has a materialzed mind to do everything for money only, seldom thinks about the heritage and history of Hong Kong.

Heritage row over old building brews
Anger over government refusal to release report on its future
2 February 2007
South China Morning Post

Angry district councillors yesterday demanded a report on the future of one of the city's oldest Chinese tenement blocks be released after learning it would not be made public until a heritage policy review had been completed.

They were reacting after the government said a consultant's report on how to use the 75-year-old Lui Seng Chun building would stay confidential until the Built Heritage Conservation Policy, that could take years to finish, was complete.

The review began in 2004 and there is no timetable for its completion.

The issue over the now-vacant building threatened to engulf the government in another heritage row, hard on the heels of the furore over the destruction of the Star Ferry pier and amid continuing efforts to save Queen's Pier, which is also slated to be demolished soon.

"We are very disappointed by the announcement," Yau Tsim Mong district council chairman Chan Man-yau said. "What is the point of keeping [the consultant's report] confidential? It is not a state secret.

"I believe the building will remain vacant after Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has completed his next five-year term."

The four-storey building in Mong Kok, built in 1931 by Kowloon Motor Bus co-founder Liu Leung, was donated to the government by Liu's family in 2003.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office commissioned a consultant to study how to use the grade one historic building.

Relevant departments were asked to comment on the report after the consultant completed it last year.

Assistant district officer Chris Fung Pan-chung told district councillors yesterday that the antiquities office was analysing the comments, but would release the report together with the Built Heritage Conservation Policy.

Lee Ho-yin, director of the University of Hong Kong's architectural conservation programme, also urged the government to release the report.

"I believe they are holding the report because they are still considering the most appropriate compatible use for the building. The usable area of the building is very small, which restricts its new use," Mr Ho said.

"But I think they should release the report so the district council and the experts can comment on it. Their comments will enrich the discussion on the Built Heritage Conservation Policy."

The ground floor of the building originally housed Liu's Chinese medicine shop, which sold remedies for bone and muscular problems, while he and his family lived on the upper floors. His descendents lived there until the 1980s.

From news.gov.hk:
Heritage conservation forums to be held (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070202/html/070202en05005.htm)

Accepting the drawbacks to heritage conservation
5 February 2007
South China Morning Post

More than half of opinion leaders are prepared to accept negative aspects of heritage conservation.

Responding to an SCMP/TNS survey, 61 per cent said increased government spending on heritage conservation was acceptable.

Fifty-six per cent were prepared to accept lower revenues as a result of more sites being protected. And 54 per cent said they would accept lower values for commercial and residential properties.

Asked what they believed the consequences of preserving heritage would be, respondents overwhelmingly believed it would enhance the city's attractiveness and enrich its culture.

Hindering development ranked as the least likely consequence.

The survey was conducted between January 22 and 25, with 25,400 people on monthly household incomes of HK$40,000 or above responding. It carried a sampling error of plus or minus 4.9 per cent and confidence level of 95 per cent.

Christine Loh Kung-wai, chief executive of the think-tank Civic Exchange, said: "We have been talking about better urban planning, heritage and nature conservation for 20 years. Europe and our neighbour Singapore prove heritage conservation will not sacrifice economic development. It is linked to a city's vibrancy and economic development.

"Chief Executive Donald Tsang [Yam-kuen] thinks pulling down the Star Ferry pier to build a road and a shopping mall is good for us. We talk about 'let's develop our city nicely'."

Mr Tsang said last week heritage conservation should not be carried out at the expense of infrastructure development, and Hong Kong could not afford heritage preservation if it did not preserve its economic sustainability.

Some 66 per cent of opinion leaders were dissatisfied with government performance on heritage conservation in the past 10 years.

Interviewees were asked "What do you think are the consequences of conservation? Enhancing the city's attractiveness to tourists scored 82 per cent, enriching culture 78 per cent and enhancing aesthetic value and international images 44 and 42 per cent. Hindering development scored 15 per cent.

A Home Affairs Bureau spokesman said the study reflected recent public concern and discussion.

Heritage market residents' nightmare
'Preservationists don't know how much we have suffered'
14 February 2007
South China Morning Post

About 80 Yau Ma Tei residents signed a petition handed to Home Affairs Secretary Patrick Ho Chi-ping yesterday calling for the relocation of the wholesale fruit market, which last month was declared a cultural heritage site.

"Structures with special architectural features should be conserved, but the operation should not be regarded as cultural heritage," said Benny Yeung Tsz-hei, chairman of Yau Ma Tei's Concern for Residents' Rights Association.

"The market has affected our lives for years, and we hope the government will find a new location."

About 20 association members held a demonstration outside the Science Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui where Mr Ho was attending a heritage forum.

A Home Affairs Bureau spokeswoman said the government was open to opinions on what cultural heritage should be preserved and how to do it.

"The government will collect views from the district councils and people from different districts," she said.

On January 6, the 93-year-old Yau Ma Tei wholesale fruit market, or gwo laan to its neighbours, was included on a list of 496 cultural heritage sites published by the bureau.

Mr Yeung said residents who lived near the market had suffered from noise pollution for decades.

"The fruit market begins to operate in the middle of the night till early morning every day," he said.

"We have suffered from many sleepless nights thanks to the noise of stacking boxes and baskets and loading fruit on to trucks and traffic noise.

"Those people who keep talking about preserving cultural heritage have no idea how much we have suffered."

Mr Yeung also said the market brought hygiene and road safety problems. "Rotten fruit is thrown on the streets and roads are packed with trucks. It can be quite dangerous for children going to school," he said.

Yau Tsim Mong District Council chairman Henry Chan Man-yu said the council had urged the government to move the market to Cheung Sha Wan for more than 20 years.

"Conserving some physical structures in the market should be treated as a separate matter," he said. "The market is a nuisance to the neighbourhood and it should be moved as soon as possible."

Yesterday's Gov't Press Release:
"Hong Kong Memory" project to preserve HK's cultural heritage (with photo) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200702/14/P200702140204.htm)

Gov't Press Release:
SHA's (Secretary for Home Affairs) "Letter to Hong Kong" on "Hong Kong Memory Project" (English only) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200703/04/P200703020164.htm)

RTHK news:
Govt urged to spend $billions renovating historical buildings (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20070319/news_20070319_56_386528.htm)

Gov't Press Release:
Building at 128 Pok Fu Lam Road declared as proposed monument (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200704/20/P200704200107.htm)

Gov't Press Release:
Historical building to house Office of Former Chief Executives (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200704/21/P200704210136.htm)

Gov't Press Release:
Chik Kwai Study Hall gazetted as historical building (with photo) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200705/04/P200705020098.htm)

http://gia.info.gov.hk/general/200705/04/P200705020098_photo_395084.JPG

Chik Kwai Study Hall


Details within the Gazette:
Antiquities and Monuments (Declaration of Historical Building) Notice 2007 (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=5&day=4&vol=11&no=18&gn=76&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=s2&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=ls2)

Dedicated Legco panel set on heritage
Hong Kong Standard
Saturday, May 12, 2007

Legislators have agreed to set up a separate subcommittee to review redevelopment projects to ensure buildings with unique heritage values are preserved.

The decision was arrived at Friday in a meeting of the Legislative Council home affairs panel, which was discussing the government's heritage conservation policy.

Civic Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung said there were too many issues to be discussed by the home affairs panel alone.

"The preservation of buildings or sites is a very technical topic," he said.

"It would be more appropriate to have a separate subcommittee to discuss such issues."

However, Emily Lau Wai-hing of The Frontier expressed fears some sites of historic value might be bulldozed as part of redevelopment projects by the time a subcommittee was formed.

Liberal Party chairman James Tien Pei-chun said he supported the idea of a subcommittee as there were already too many items on the home affairs panel's agenda.

The panel decided to propose to the House Committee that a subcommittee be set up.

The subcommittee would monitor the government on projects involving potential heritage sites and make sure buildings or sites with unique heritage values are preserved.

It will also discuss with the government feasible alternatives so that certain buildings can be preserved.

The panel also decided to visit Macau and Europe to better understand how other places dealt with such issues.

The discussion came after some legislators expressed dissatisfaction with the passive performance shown by the government on issues involving heritage conservation.

They were particularly concerned that some historical sites, which had been included in redevelopment projects by the Urban Renewal Authority, would be damaged or even destroyed in the redevelopment race.

One of the first tasks for the new subcommittee would be to look at preserving the last remaining traditional Chinese fortified village in Kowloon's urban districts at Nga Tsin Wai and Dragon Garden in the New Territories.

The government's heritage policies first came under harsh scrutiny in January when the Star Ferry pier was dismantled despite a public uproar.

More recently, attention has focused on the Queen's Pier, where colonial governors first set foot on the territory.

The Antiquities Advisory Board last week voted to designate the pier as a Grade I historical building.

But government officials said they had no intention of making the pier a declared monument and the grading would not necessarily grant it a reprieve.

Gov't Press Release:
LCQ10: Lee Tat Bridge in Shui Tsan Tin Tsuen, Pat Heung (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200705/16/P200705160183.htm)
LCQ19: Grading assessment of antiquities and monuments (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200705/16/P200705160189.htm)

Heritage at centre of Hong Kong's search for post-colonial identity

HONG KONG, May 14, 2007 (AFP) - Long celebrated for its picturesque harbour and dazzling skyscrapers, as well as low taxes and a business-friendly government that has made it rich terrain for property developers, Hong Kong is in the grip of a debate on its post-colonial identity.

A decade after its former British rulers handed the territory back to China, Hong Kong's rapidly changing face is drawing growing public opposition to rampant development that some say is destroying a traditional way of life.

The issue of heritage preservation came to a head last year when the government decided, with what many say was woefully inadequate public consultation, to destroy the iconic Star Ferry pier and its clock tower to make way for a new shopping centre and highway.

Thousands of people turned out to protest, sparking huge public debate and turning the protection of Hong Kong's heritage into a major issue ahead of the limited election to reinstate Chief Executive Donald Tsang in March.

"Traditionally, Hong Kong society has been very economy-driven. But since 1997, people have become more concerned with our identity and core values," Bernard Lim, an architecture professor and member of both the Town Planning Board and the Antiquities Advisory Board, told AFP.

"People are now more willing to voice their opinions, and the Star Ferry and the dismantling of the clock tower was a turning point. Now, the government has to come up with ways of coping with those new demands, under the umbrella of the need for sustainable development."

Ho Loy is facing charges over her participation in the Star Ferry Pier protests, and unsurprisingly does not agree with Lim's assessment.

"Heritage conservation is not expensive, its an investment," she said. "Hong Kong is one of the world's richest cities, but culturally it is becoming poorer than the third world."

Chief Executive Tsang responded to the mass protests by promising greater public consultation, using a pre-election address to call on Hong Kong people to express their views on what he termed "collective memory".

But he insisted this should not be at the expense of infrastructure development, a sign that maintaining the city's appeal to investors remains the government's priority.

Katty Law, who has set up a group to lobby for the preservation of the rapidly changing SoHo district, believes the government's "general mindset is driven by sales revenue," and worries that promises of more public involvement in decisions will fall victim to the financial pressure to push through deals.

"They (the authorities) talk about more public consultation, but it is an incredibly slow process," she said.

"Heritage conservation is a hugely controversial issue in Hong Kong, especially when the building you are trying to protect is on land worth billions of dollars."

Two years ago residents of Soho -- once home to traditional artisans, craftsmen and printers and now filled with trendy bars, art galleries and boutiques -- lost their battle to block the construction of two upmarket residential tower blocks on the hitherto mainly low-rise Hollywood Road.

Now, a disused colonial-era police barracks on the same street is open to bids from developers, although Law and fellow campaigners are trying to have the site reclassified for community use.

Nearby, a 140-year-old street market popular with locals and tourists alike is threatened by a major development of two high-rise residential blocks and an office tower.

The government has said it will preserve the market stalls, but has not said how. And a plan to replace the historic shop houses with replicas has been widely criticised as an attempt to "Disneyfy" Hong Kong's heritage.

"It's just a package to make the development more attractive," said Law. "A market is like the soul of the city and it cannot survive if the street becomes part of a big residential complex. It will die slowly and in the end there will be nothing left."

It is this destruction of a traditional way of life that most concerns many Hong Kong residents, and there are many other stories like it.

In Wanchai, where old-style markets and shops stand alongside shiny new office blocks, a $3.6 billion-US-dollar plan to redevelop an entire street has forced the closure of wedding invitation printing businesses that had survived for more than a generation.

There is no doubt that money talks in Hong Kong. When the Bank of China decided it wanted to buy the prime city-centre site occupied by Hong Kong's oldest colonial building, Murray House, for its new offices, the authorities obligingly took the historic structure apart and rebuilt it, brick by brick, on the other side of the island.

But some believe there may also be a political motive for the government's willingness to see Hong Kong's old buildings fall victim to the wrecking ball.

Among them is Hung Wing-Tat, director of the Conservancy Association, who has campaigned for years to secure more stringent planning regulations that would restrict developers and give local residents more say.

He believes the government has failed to understand people's emotional attachment to colonial relics such as the old-style postboxes that are gradually disappearing, and suspects tacit pressure from Beijing.

He says the government underestimated the public reaction to the closure of the Star Ferry pier, and more recently Queen's Pier, where Hong Kong's British governors and visiting dignitaries traditionally stepped onto the island.

For campaigner Ho, "Hong Kong people have a 150-year history of European influence and colonial rule. China is in our blood, but we need time to combine that with the present and define what our future should be."

For Lim, the government advisor, the question of Hong Kong's identity has already been answered.

"Perhaps Hong Kong hasn't got the right culture to preserve its heritage sites properly," he was recently quoted as saying.

"We focus so much energy on making money and we have to pay a price for that. There's nothing to regret. It's a money-driven city, and that's our identity."

Gov't Press Release:
LCQ5: Cultural heritage tourism (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200705/30/P200705300183.htm)

用途四載未定 最快明年始「用得」
活化雷生春政府唱慢板
29/06/2007
太陽報

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【本報訊】九巴創辦人之一的雷氏家族四年前將祖業雷生春捐予政府之後，大宅一直丟空，至今仍未有用途。政府昨日透露，當局會再就雷生春的用途諮詢公眾的意見，落實後才開始招標，估計該幢一級歷史建築物需延至明年始有望開放予市民參觀。

用途方案將諮詢公眾
立法會民政事務委員會昨舉行考察團，參觀油麻地戲院、紅磚屋、雷生春及衙前圍村四個歷史建築物。考察團成員鄺志堅引述吳志華所說，政府已聘請顧問研究雷生春的用途，稍後會就各個方案諮詢公眾的意見，一切順利的話，最快明年「用得」，惟暫無時間表。當局會待用途落實後，在大宅進行改建工程，以便符合《建築物條例》，包括加建升降機及加闊樓梯等。立法會議員蔡素玉批評政府「成四年都未開放雷生春，拖得太耐！」建議當局把大宅出租，自負盈虧。

記者現場所見，雷生春的外牆已添上「奶白色」的新衣，復修工程以盡量保持大宅的原有風貌為原則，屋內的地磚、木窗及廚房內的燒炭爐均獲保留，大宅的建築特色「走馬大騎樓」及十呎高的樓底亦無大改動。

至於油麻地戲院及紅磚屋的用途，民政事務局已拍板將該兩個建築物活化成粵曲中心及訓練場地，稍後會向立法會申請撥款，估計改建工程最快○九年開始，二○一一年竣工。

Town planning climbs agenda
29 June 2007
Financial Times

Shortly after midnight on July 1, 1997, Prince Charles and Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, marked the end of 156 years of British rule when they boarded the royal yacht Britannia and sailed out of the Victoria harbour.

They embarked at Tamar, a short distance from the historic Queen's Pier where Mr Patten landed upon taking up his post in 1992. It was a long-held tradition for British governors, and visiting royalty including Queen Elizabeth, to land formally at the pier upon arrival.

Now, 10 years after the Britannia's departure, Tamar is barren pending the construction of a new, HKDollars 5.2bn (Dollars 667m) government headquarters. Critics question whether an administrative palace is the best use for one of the territory's best remaining pieces of undeveloped harbour-front and say the decision-making process has been opaque. Queen's Pier, meanwhile, was closed this April despite strong opposition and will be removed to make way for a four-lane highway built on reclaimed land.

Public outrage over urban redevelopment used to be rare in a city that viewed rapid transformation as a necessary part of economic development, and where previous approaches to heritage preservation yielded curious results.

The distinctive brick-and-granite Tsim Sha Tsui clock tower stands isolated at the tip of the Kowloon peninsula, the only remnant of the Kowloon railway station that was demolished in 1977 despite protests and petitioning from pressure groups. When Murray House, the Victorian-era barracks in Central, needed to give way to build the 70-storey tall Bank of China building in 1982, the government decided to dismantle it brick by brick. Murray House was rebuilt on the south side of Hong Kong island in 1999 and is today home to restaurants, souvenir shops and a maritime museum.

"As an architect in the 1970s I must have destroyed some of the best buildings in Hong Kong," says Patrick Lau, a lawmaker representing the architecture, surveying and planning sectors. "People just didn't care."

Recalling how he helped the government compile records of old buildings 30 years ago, Mr Lau said: "We would take measurements of buildings for the official records, and then the government would come and tear them down. No one wanted to stop development at that time. People have to care about their city in order to preserve its heritage."

A city-wide debate over urban planning and heritage preservation was finally sparked late last year when the famed Star Ferry Pier, with its distinctive clock tower, was demolished as part of the same reclamation and highways project that doomed neighbouring Queen's Pier.

As the bulldozers moved in on Star Ferry Pier, students, activists, and politicians staged multiple protests to preserve a historically and culturally significant structure. The pier, they argued, represented an important part of Hong Kong's collective memory, pointing not only to the pier's many years of service but also to a 1966 hunger strike and riots over a proposed fare hike.

"We felt that development shouldn't just be about the economy but there should also be respect for culture and history," says Bobo Yip, one of the activists who tried to save the pier. "A lot of social movements were centred around the Star Ferry Pier. It's a Hong Kong landmark."

"There is now a much greater degree of local awareness among Hong Kong citizens," adds Albert Lai, chairman of the non-government Hong Kong People's Council for Sustainable Development and a vocal opponent of the pier's destruction. "The transition in 1997 made people identify with Hong Kong as their own place. As a reaction to globalisation, too, people feel a greater need to have a local identity and to find local culture and heritage."

But the government, which had unveiled the project in 2004, said any last-minute changes would be unfeasible, and all proper consultation procedures had already been observed. The pier was demolished on December 11 despite violent protests, although the government promised to incorporate elements of the clocktower into a new promenade that will be built after the reclamations.

"To me it is no answer to say 'we followed the law' if the law is deficient," says Gladys Li, a barrister and senior member of the fledgling Civic Party, which opposed the pier's destruction. "Real public engagement is missing."

The protests, which occurred just months before Donald Tsang secured a second term as chief executive, became a political issue. "The first thing we need to do is find the reasonable level of physical development by balancing it with environmental protection and heritage preservation," Mr Tsang said in an interview with the FT. In the months following the destruction of the pier, Mr Tsang launched a public consultation on how Hong Kong should preserve its cultural heritage, and pledged a new style of governance.

However, Mr Tsang has also re-affirmed his decision to proceed with the dismantling of Queen's Pier, despite a government advisory body's recommendation that it be considered a historical monument. Like Murray House, the pier would be stored and reconstructed in a new location.

"The government's problem is that they haven't changed in 10 years," says Mr Lai. "There is a growing value gap between the ruling elite and the general population. The government tends to still see development and conservation as polarised."

"We're paying a high price for the greed factor," adds Nicholas Brooke, chairman of Professional Property Services Limited, a real estate consultancy, and a former deputy chairman of the town planning board. Roughly 40 per cent of government revenue is derived from land sales, giving it strong incentives to allow property developers to build dense, commercially lucrative developments.

Mr Brooke says: "The major developers, who have to play the game and maximise shareholder value, don't see there being a great deal wrong with the system as it is. The driving force (behind the current development model) is to find the best use for the land and to maximize land revenue. This was fine while we were in growth mode. But we're seeing the impact now in terms of very dense development and inadequate quality of life."

Additional reporting by Tom Mitchell

Hong Kong leader pledges more public engagement on heritage

HONG KONG, July 5, 2007 (AFP) - Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang pledged Thursday to engage more with the public on heritage conservation as he began his second term in office.

But he refused to be drawn on the details of his plan to introduce more democracy in the territory, where tens of thousands took to the streets Sunday to demand universal suffrage.

Tsang said the previous government had "left something to be desired" on issues such as heritage conservation, and promised closer cooperation with the public in the future.

"For issues of public concern such as heritage, we should seize every opportunity to engage our public organisations in dialogue," Tsang told legislators in his first speech since his inauguration Sunday.

The government's decision last year to demolish Hong Kong's historic Star Ferry pier and clock tower to make way for a highway and shopping centre sparked protests and huge public debate on heritage in a city famed for its skyscrapers.

Tsang said Hong Kong people's concerns had changed since the return to Chinese rule a decade ago.

"The people of Hong Kong are not only interested in economic issues, they are also interested in other values and objectives, including sustainable development and heritage conservation," he said.

"I must admit the government left something to be desired in these areas and we need time to adjust to that."

Tsang declined to discuss the details of his pledge to introduce a more democratic system, despite repeated questions from legislators.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets Sunday, the 10th anniversary of the handover, to call for universal suffrage in Hong Kong, where citizens do not have the right to choose their own leaders and only half the legislature is directly elected.

Tsang, who is widely expected to publish a long-awaited green paper on political reform next week, would say only that the universal suffrage model to be adopted by Hong Kong would be acceptable to the rest of the world.

Before Tsang began speaking, independent legislator Leung Kwok-hung was removed from the chamber.

Leung had tried to hand the chief executive a petition calling for the introduction of a minimum wage.

Wan Chai Environmental Resource Centre

The building of Wan Chai Environmental Resource Centre was constructed in 1913. It was used as the Wan Chai Post Office from 1915 to 1992 and was declared as a historical building in 1990. It was renovated and became the first Environmental Resource Centre of the Environmental Protection Department in 1993. It is one element of the government's effort in building up an environmentally aware and well-informed community in Hong Kong - an essential first step in developing an improved environmental ethic within the community.

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Call for antiquities board to be replaced
20 August 2007
South China Morning Post

An independent statutory body with the authority to declare monuments should be set up to replace the Antiquities Advisory Board, a conservationist said yesterday.

The idea of a heritage conservation board was proposed by People's Council for Sustainable Development chairman Albert Lai Kwong-tak at a forum organised by Local Action, which led the campaign to prevent the demolition of Queen's Pier. "It should have the power to declare not only historical buildings as monuments, but also intangible items of historical interest," he said.

Mr Lai's group is an NGO that was established in September 2003 to push for sustainable development in the city.

Regarding Mr Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon's judgment on the judicial review over the ferry terminal, he said the power and the discretion to declare a building a monument were in the hands of the Antiquities Authority, while the board played only an advisory role.

Mr Lai suggested that the conservation board have a two-tier structure, with subcommittees in eastern and western New Territories, eastern and western Kowloon, and Hong Kong Island to consult the public.

Meanwhile, Chu Hoi-dick, a core member of Local Action, said it would make a decision on whether to appeal against its defeat in the judicial review in the next few days.

About 20 members of the group made more than 100 paper planes and a huge paper crane penned with their best wishes for the pier in Edinburgh Place before yesterday's forum. They flew the paper planes over hoardings and water barriers at the site.

Mr Chu said some members wanted to stand as candidates in the coming district council elections to air their heritage opinions. Local Action and Heritage Watch, a loose alliance of conservation groups, was also planning to hold a forum for candidates of the Legco by-election for Hong Kong Island to urge them to include heritage conservation in their platforms.

Separately, the Chinese University Student Union started an online petition urging the government to explain how it would balance conservation and development.

Choose your conservation battles wisely
22 August 2007
South China Morning Post

Pundits here want to frame every issue as a battle between the pro-China, pro-establishment camp and the pro-democracy, dissident camp. More often than not, this oversimplified view is completely off the mark. A recent case in point is the Queen's Pier issue.

The government, according to this narrative, wants to demolish the pier because it carries the colonial stigma, while those protecting it are nostalgic about that era. If this were the case, the first thing to be removed would be Victoria Park and the not-so-beautiful statue at its entrance. But they are still intact.

The pro-establishment camp has always put development before conservation and, as a result, the whole of Central, with its colonial buildings, had a complete facelift in the 1980s and 1990s. The activists who vowed to protect Queen's Pier were the same ones who tried to protect almost everything else, whether or not it had colonial content.

I am quite sympathetic to those who want to preserve much of our local heritage. For example, I think the plans for West Kowloon's development should go back to the drawing board. I have proposed an open park for that site, not a property development in the guise of a cultural complex.

By trying to protect the Star Ferry pier in Central, and Queen's Pier, our young conservationists chose the wrong battles and the wrong tactics. Everyone can see clearly that easing traffic on northern Hong Kong Island is an urgent necessity. The government has done its consultation and obtained public consent. Stopping the project in midstream seems unreasonable, and therefore would not win public sympathy.

The real issue is our attitude towards development and town planning. We will certainly need more reclamation and more road-building in the not-too-distant future if we go on developing the island as we are doing. The claim about defending our "collective memory", however, is hollow to the point of being funny. I would bet that 80 per cent of our twenty-somethings don't even know where, exactly, Queen's Pier is.

As an activist - and I have a long record of social activism before many of these protesters were born - I have to agree that the Star Ferry and Queen's Pier make good issues for campaigners. But the real objective should be to make a point, not to protect these sites. The point to be made is: "Hey people, you have knocked down too many things already." Once that is established, it's time to move on.

Even sympathetic commentators agree that the judicial review of the decision to demolish the pier was a bad move. If we carry on overloading the judicial system with political issues which, strictly speaking, are not in its territory, it will not do anybody any good, not least our overworked judicial system. So, protesters, please do not make a nuisance of yourself by making another wrong move. Do not appeal against the recent defeat of the judicial review: our judicial system needs conserving, too.

According to the press, our young activists are moving on to the next target: the West Kowloon development. This is a good choice. Visiting some mainland cities recently, I found they were far more advanced in their approach to conservation than our own mainstream establishment. If we carry on with our old ways, we are bound to end up worse off than even a typical mainland city.

But, this time, heritage conservation should evolve to a higher level than just routine protests. Our activists should tackle a selling job: explain to the majority of citizens here what conservation is all about, and win their support. My advice is, read something written in Chinese and be aware of the recent dialogue on the mainland on the issue, and the steps taken so far. You will be amazed how far they have ventured in this area. Modernity is not necessarily western.

Lau Nai-keung is a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference delegate

Activists to turn attention to reforming preservation system
27 August 2007
South China Morning Post

Activists from Local Action have decided not to appeal against the ruling over the fate of Queen's Pier because of the "unbearable financial risk". Instead, they will shift their focus to reforming the heritage preservation system.

"Although we could still debate this case on legal grounds, we would need to bear an unbearable financial risk because the chance of getting legal aid to pursue the case is very bleak," Chu Hoi-dick and Ho Loy of Local Action said in a statement yesterday.

The group will now try to "reform the current heritage preservation system; in particular, to change the current shortcoming about the excessive power of the Antiquities Authority chief".

On August 10, High Court Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon declared lawful former home affairs secretary Patrick Ho Chi-ping's decision against granting monument status to Queen's Pier. This ruling cleared the way for not only its demolition, but also the final stage of the Central reclamation project, which began 10 years ago.

Speaking after the judgment, the activists - who initiated the judicial review of Dr Ho's decision - said they were disappointed the judgment did not mention the need to review a "seriously outdated and flawed" ordinance on heritage conservation and were discussing with their lawyers the possibility of an appeal.

Local Action's legal representative had earlier argued that Dr Ho, who was then the Antiquities Authority, acted improperly by not adopting the May recommendation of the Antiquities Advisory Board to grant the pier Grade I status. The guidelines state that every effort should be made to preserve Grade I structures.

Yet Justice Lam said in his ruling that the power and the discretion to declare a building a monument belonged to the authority under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

Members of Local Action camped at the pier for three months until the August 1 deadline for clearing the pier before demolition proceeded.

"We failed to save the pier, but we've gained the public echo on preserving the public space," said Ip Lam-chong, another Local Action member.

"Hongkongers are much more concerned about the demolition of historical architecture and public space than before."

Meanwhile, a team of engineers and activists will be formed to monitor the demolition of Queen's Pier. Mr Ip said they were worried components of the historic structure would be damaged while it was being dismantled.

"We urge government to replace the barriers around the site with transparent plastic hoardings so the public can see what's happening," he said.

豎碑介紹維城界石歷史
04/09/2007

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【本報訊】香港掀起一片集體回憶及保護文物熱潮，原來灣仔區內亦豎立了兩塊逾百年歷史、被喻為港英政府為維多利亞城豎立的界石。灣仔區議會決定在兩塊界石旁豎立石碑，向市民介紹界石的歷史，工程預期年底展開，需時約兩個月。

兩塊界石分別位於灣仔黃泥涌道聖保祿天主臈小學對面的停車場行人路，及寶雲道近司徒拔道御峰，每塊界石呈方柱體，頂部為金字塔形，高約一點三米，以花崗石建造，石身刻上「CITY BOUNDARY 1903」字樣。

兩塊界石別具意義，是香港開埠初期，政府將現今的中西區與灣仔區一帶發展為維多利亞城，並於一九○三年在城的外圍豎立了六塊界石以確立範圍，其中兩塊正位於灣仔區內。

早前有報道指位於馬己仙峽道的界石，被網民認定為第七塊界石神秘消失，批評政府未有將維城界石列為保護法定古畺，市民亦從不知道豎立在路旁的界石所具的歷史意義。灣仔區議會地區工程及設施管理督導委員會建議在區內兩塊界石前豎立一塊直角三角柱體石碑，刻上中英文介紹界石的歷史，可說是在保護文物上踏出重要的一步。

督導委員會今日討論有關工程，建議從灣仔軒尼詩道綠化計劃的五十五萬元撥款中，調撥兩萬元作為豎立簡介界石歷史的石碑，而綠化軒尼詩道計劃亦由原先的三個綠化點新增多六個。

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Heritage preservation grips Hong Kong amid building boom

Sun Sep 9, 2007 10:41PM EDT

By James Pomfret

HONG KONG (Reuters) - In the dim confines of the time-worn Wing Woo grocery, a short hop from Hong Kong's gleaming financial towers, Kwan Moon-chiu, 73, quietly arranges supplies of salted-fish and eggs, knowing his store's days are numbered.

"This shop is 130 years old, I have deep feelings for it. But if the government wants to tear it down, what can I do?" he said.

The plight of Kwan's rickety store, which faces demolition for a massive urban renewal project, embodies the dilemma faced in Hong Kong -- one of the world's most densely populated places with 7 million residents -- of whether to raze or save.

While development has long taken precedent over heritage preservation -- the recent demise of two iconic colonial-era piers sparked widespread public outrage among Hong Kongers tired of seeing their history effaced in the name of progress.

"I would see it as a major social movement in Hong Kong and it's an emerging attitude among the young," said Lee Ho Yin, an architectural conservation expert at the University of Hong Kong.

Activists who chained themselves to the doomed piers and who wrote protest banners in their own blood helped foment heritage-preservation an emotive, hot-button civil cause, alongside other long-established Hong Kong issues like the push for greater democracy and social equality.

"Our city would be identical to any other, lacking personality. It would just be blasts of glass, steel and concrete blocks," said Hong Kong resident Bonnie Yiu.

Kwan's shop stands to be demolished in a controversial HK$487 million redevelopment that rips the heart out of one of Hong Kong's oldest neighbourhoods centered on Central's last surviving street market on Graham and Peel Streets.

Thirty-seven mostly post-war tenement blocks will be replaced by four 30-40-storey skyscrapers including a hotel and new shops that will displace the quirky, old stores including noodle-makers and incense sellers lining the narrow, sloping streets.

The numerous, boisterous street hawkers selling all manner of produce from broccoli to live crabs in wicker baskets and pig trotters hung on metal hooks also face an uncertain fate.

"This market must really be preserved for its historical, economic and social value," said Katty Law, an activist with a network of social and heritage groups who have been campaigning against the project.

"Other countries have charters guiding the preservation of old areas but Hong Kong has never done this," Law added.

In the 1950s -- Hong Kong's waterfront was still filled with red-brick Edwardian and Victorian buildings with columns and elaborate facades. These have since been largely demolished.

A historic Victorian building called Murray House was dismantled and rebuilt in 1999 on the other side of the island in a manner which critics say was tasteless and failed to preserve its original character.

Neighboring Macau on the other hand -- which is even more densely populated than Hong Kong -- has managed to preserve much of its historic Portuguese core -- and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The chairman of Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority, Barry Cheung, defended the development project by saying it would create more open, greener spaces, resettle residents now stuck in the decrepit buildings and generally gentrify the area.

"If somehow through what we do or what we haven't done, that street market dies, then I'll take it upon myself as having failed," Cheung told Reuters. But he said he was also "touched" by the wave of public concerns regarding heritage preservation and was willing to rethink existing plans for the market.

"Not everything has been cast in stone," he said.

MATURING SOCIETY

With Hong Kong marking its tenth anniversary since returning from British to Chinese rule, observers say the city's growing civil activism -- of which heritage preservation has become a part -- is tied to a greater sense of belonging and a desire to preserve the city's cultural roots and unique identity.

"Up to 1997, people were not focused on the living environment because Hong Kong had a sell-by date," said Paul Zimmerman, an expatriate activist opposed to the reclamation of large chunks of Victoria harbor for redevelopment.

"The whole mentality has changed," he added.

But for activists like Chu Hoi-dick -- who fought to save Queen's Pier -- Hong Kong's heritage activism boils down to a simple lack of democracy and the government's heavy-handed policy-making without adequately involving the public.

"I do not deny this is just the beginning of a new political movement. It is a movement to re-establish the identity of Hong Kong people, not controlled by the British and not controlled by Beijing," said Chu.

Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority has said it will preserve several older buildings in the area including the facade of the Wing Woo grocery -- but some say the development will still bleed the district of its vitality and color.

"What makes Hong Kong such a unique city is all the local markets, otherwise it's just the same as any other city," said Aaron Martin, one of many tourists who flock to the market daily to soak up its quintessential Hong Kong charm.

(Additional reporting by Farah Master)

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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSHKG23926620070910

Hong Kong's temple for slackers

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 10/09/2007

Man Mo Temple is a sandlewood-scented haven in the smoggy sprawl of Hong Kong, says Steven King.

You couldn't call it an "attraction", but in the past few years the air itself in Hong Kong has become a "sight" - something for visitors to marvel at. Day and night a smutty haze hangs over the city, most of it blown in from the factories of the Pearl River delta, which are multiplying a few miles to the west in mainland China.

Worshippers burn incense at Man Mo Temple, Hong Kong's temple for slackers
Man Mo Temple has become popular with schoolchildren, Kung Fu stars and Triad members

One of the loveliest spots in Hong Kong is also one of the most thoroughly polluted - if sandalwood-scented incense counts as a pollutant. Man Mo Temple is squashed among the looming apartment blocks and overflowing antique shops of Hollywood Road. It was built in 1847, which makes it, by Hong Kong standards, a genuine relic.

Whether you're a temple fancier or not, Man Mo is oddly moving. The air is thick with burning incense. Row upon row of huge conical coils waft prayers beyond the rafters to the spirit world. Shafts of light struggle to filter through. Altars and shrines glimmer in the holy smoke. At the back stand statues of the god of literature (Man) and the god of war (Mo). Man wields his calligraphy brush, Mo his sword. Worshippers arrange tidy piles of roast pork, chicken and oranges as offerings to the deities.

There are 600-plus temples in Hong Kong, both Buddhist and Taoist. Despite some differences of emphasis, the two religions rub along comfortably. The nominally Taoist Man Mo has long been popular with schoolchildren - or at least with their ambitious parents. The real-life Man, born in AD287, is said to have ruled the careers of civil servants. Now fleets of BMW-borne families make the pilgrimage to Man Mo to suck up to Man. Youngsters rub his gold-encrusted writing hand for good luck, and parents can buy stationery that the scholastic god has somehow officially blessed.

The temple isn't just for swots: there's something for slackers, too. Mo may be shunned by the brainiacs, but he was a distinguished fellow in his own warlike way. Some 1,800 years ago, his prowess in battle made him a hero, and he came to embody loyalty and righteousness. Today he's the patron saint of policemen, kung-fu stars and triad members.

Blueprint exposes delays on heritage
Plan to save old sites ignored for 8 years
10 September 2007
South China Morning Post

A blueprint for a heritage conservation policy was drafted and endorsed by a government advisory body eight years ago, a government document has revealed. But it was largely ignored and historic buildings have since been demolished.

In another sign of government foot-dragging, a public consultation launched earlier this year repeated questions originally put forward three years ago.

A policy document, prepared and endorsed by the Antiquities and Advisory Board in 1999, recommended measures to revamp the conservation system, including financial incentives to encourage landowners to protect historic properties.

It called for more power for the Antiquities and Monuments Office, and hastening of the grading process of 8,000 pre-1950s buildings.

The document was written against the backdrop of the 1999 policy address, in which former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa called for a review of heritage policy.

It asked the government to look into the compensation involved in heritage protection. Among the recommendations were a set of incentive schemes, such as bonuses and transfer of development rights, extended leases, land premium exemption and tax incentives.

The government was also asked to explore the feasibility of a development levy to ensure a steady funding source for heritage preservation. And it advised that appropriate use be found for historic buildings that were lying empty.

Suggestions in the document were further reinforced by a policy recommendation report submitted by the Culture and Heritage Commission in 2003, which was headed by Chang Hsin-kang, former president of City University.

The commission said the government should consider establishing a heritage conservation board, directly headed by the Home Affairs Bureau, to take on wider responsibilities.

It urged the government to encourage private owners to protect heritage, adding that the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust Fund covered mainly promotion and education.

In response to the recommendations, a consultation was launched in 2004 in which the public was asked what to conserve, how to conserve it, how much should be paid and who should pay. Those questions were put to the public again this year.

Desmond Hui Cheuk-kuen, a former member of the Antiquities Advisory Board, said: "It was disappointing, it is unnecessary for the government to step back to square one."

He said some historic buildings had been demolished during the eight years of consultation.

"Only 607 buildings have been graded, and 54 of them have been demolished since 1980. Unlike monuments, historic buildings are not legally protected from development."

A government spokeswoman said the future set-up of the Antiquities and Monuments Office would be examined in the context of the review of heritage conservation policy, adding that the government would formulate a host of improvement measures for further public consultation by the end of the year.

皇后戲院在掌聲中落幕

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(星島) 10月 01日 星期一 05:30AM

隨招牌「皇后戲院」四字的燈光徐徐熄滅，陪伴港人八十二載的中環 皇后戲院，百年光影昨晚正式告終。不少市民昨日專程入場看戲，希望見證皇后的最後一刻，有退休電影攝影師趕緊緬懷作品在皇后登場的風光，也有老街坊買下最後一場的整行戲票，紀念與皇后的一份情。完場一刻，觀眾紛紛以掌聲歡送皇后，並為院內的藍皮特大座椅等懷舊陳設留影，久久不願散去。

　　「最後一場，怎樣也要來捧下場呢！」皇后戲院最後一場電影於昨晚九時上演，吸引不少五、六十歲的老影迷捧場，入場時更與忙於撕戲票的老職員互拍膊頭，一切盡在不言中。觀眾魚貫入場後，職員隨即把棗紅色戲院的大門關上，售票處燈光徐徐熄滅，電燈箱上的「皇后戲院」四字慢慢消失，標誌八十二年歷史的皇后戲院，正式落幕。

　　大廈拆建今日結業

　　隨坐落的陸海通大廈清拆重建，皇后戲院今日正式結業，昨日雖無特別的告別儀式，但仍吸引大批市民專程入場看戲。昨日上演的四場《色，戒》戲票一早售罄，整日不斷有市民及遊客前來，爭相在戲院門口的電影海報及招牌前拍照留念。

　　七十七歲的退休攝影師逄先生，昨日黃昏從電視得悉皇后戲院清拆的消息，隨即趕往戲院欲買最後一場戲票，惜最終撲空。他自言多套拍攝的電影，包括首批彩色電影，曾登上皇后大銀幕，年輕時亦愛在皇后看戲，留下不少美好回憶，故對皇后結業別有一番感觸。

　　豪擲千元買回憶

　　住在中上環四十多年的張先生，兩日前花了過千元預先購買整行九點場戲票。他難忘小學時期跟父母到皇后看戲，長大後又跟女友到皇后拍拖，「昔日到皇后看戲是最大娛樂，最喜歡戲院保留人手劃票的做法，香港失去這樣一間舊式戲院，實在可惜！」他收藏了過百張電影戲票，並珍而重之存放在保險箱，尤其鍾愛其中一張見證皇后戲院，於日治時期改名為「明治劇場」的戲票。

　　香港歷史博物館名譽顧問鄭寶鴻表示，當二十至六十年代大會堂還未出現時，皇后戲院屬氣派一流的高級戲院，有近千個座位。「當年只有上流社會人士才去皇后看戲，更有指在戲院門口，可看到香港最高貴的女士呢！」

Heritage plan may help open Dragon Garden
21 October 2007
South China Morning Post

Historic Dragon Garden can be preserved and developed under the principles applied to other government premises named in the latest of its heritage preservation initiatives, Development Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor says.

The owners of Dragon Garden - built by late tycoon Lee Iu-cheung in Sham Tseng - want to make a gift of the garden to the government. And the government would speak to them about starting a fund to revitalise the garden, Mrs Lam said on Metro Radio yesterday.

She also said the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership scheme, an initiative to preserve cultural heritage sites for adaptive re-use laid out in the chief executive's policy address, could be applied to the private residence as well.

Through the scheme, non-profit organisations can submit proposals to use these buildings to provide services or for social enterprises. Financial support will be provided in the first two years of operation.

Seven government-owned buildings - including the old Tai Po Police Station, the Lui Seng Chun and the North Kowloon Magistracy - will serve as pilot construction projects in the scheme.

Mrs Lam said her bureau had been discussing with the owners of Dragon Garden how to revitalise it. She had suggested setting up a non-profit foundation to preserve the mansion and the garden to enable it to be opened to the public.

Dragon Garden covers an 8-hectare waterfront site in Castle Peak Road and was built in the late 1950s. One of the city's largest and most beautiful private gardens, it was designed by renowned architect Chu Pin, who was involved in the restoration of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

It features hundreds of species of trees and flowers, as well as ponds, footpaths, bridges and architecture of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. It was open to the public in the 1970s and early 1980s.

A family dispute broke out last year over whether to sell the residence to a developer.

Mrs Lam said the scheme could also be applied to the Blue House in Wan Chai.

Heritage policy set in Tsang address: bureau
26 October 2007
South China Morning Post

Conservationists and activists who have been eagerly awaiting the heritage policy are surprised to find it has already been released: in the chief executive's policy address.

The measures listed by Donald Tsang Yam-kuen on October 10 constituted the policy, and no more consultation was planned beyond a public forum that was attended by about 50 people on Saturday, the Development Bureau said.

Lawmakers, professionals and Antiquities Advisory Board members who had been looking forward to a policy framework being mapped out after public views were sought early this year said Mr Tsang's initiatives, while welcome, were not a policy.

The measures include revitalising historic buildings, providing financial assistance to maintain private historical buildings and conducting heritage impact assessment on graded buildings in government projects.

"An action plan cannot substitute a long-term directive policy," lawmaker Patrick Lau Sau-shing said. "From the policy document, we do not know if we are going to meet the international standards for heritage conservation."

Laurence Li Lu-jen, an Antiquities Advisory Board member, said there were still questions. "Will our urban planning system work with the new initiatives?"

Lee Ho-yin, architectural conservation programme director of the University of Hong Kong, said Mr Tsang had not said whether the board would be reformed.

The bureau elaborated on the measures in a 14-page statement given to a Legco meeting last week, which also explained why some public suggestions had not been taken. It said a heritage trust would not be established until the present proposals had been in place for about five years, but the government would start studying overseas experience.

The bureau also said the idea of transferring development rights to protect privately owned heritage sites would be considered only on a case-by-case basis, as setting up a formal mechanism would involve substantial legislative amendments and difficult issues of determining the value of sites.

A bureau spokeswoman said the government had already gauged public views on the policy at Saturday's forum and no public consultation will be held in the coming months except individual meetings with professional groups.

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said yesterday the new policy was action-based to address the public demand for measures to protect heritage.

HK$3m cap mooted for heritage site operations
9 November 2007
South China Morning Post

The government is considering a HK$3 million cap on grants to operate projects under the historic buildings revitalisation scheme. The HK$3 million would be to cover operating costs for the first two years of running a building.

The winning proposals submitted by non-governmental organisations should also strike a good balance between delivering social benefits and attaining financial sustainability, said Janet Wong Wing-chen, deputy secretary for development (works).

Details of the newly announced scheme to revitalise seven selected government-owned historic buildings were revealed in a briefing session with NGOs yesterday. About 100 representatives from NGOs and professional bodies attended.

Ms Wong said the government's initial plan was to set a cap on how much operating costs would be subsidised in the first two years. But, she said, there would be no ceiling on the one-off grant given for a building's renovation.

"The HK$3 million is the cap that we are thinking about. But since all of these sites vary in size, if we allow such a cap to be used for the 6,700-square-metre Mei Ho House [in Sham Shui Po], the cap for those of a smaller size will be accordingly less," she said.

Profit generated from the revitalisation scheme by NGOs should be invested back into the projects, she said.

But the NGOs expressed concerns over the subsidy cap, saying it might not be sufficient to support non-profit activities such as arts and culture education or youth development.

"The amount is quite low," said Iman Fok Tin-man of the Society for Community Organisation, which is looking to turn Lai Chi Kok Hospital and Mei Ho House in Sham Shui Po into youth hostels.

"Many of these buildings are large in size and I am worried that we can't afford to participate, even if we are very keen to."

Ms Wong said the government would reconsider the amount after listening to the views of NGOs.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office is also compiling two sets of documents - one which assesses the heritage value of these buildings and one with conservation guidelines.

The government plans to receive applications from February next year. The assessment panel is to examine the applications based on four criteria starting from May and have some of these projects approved by the end of next year.

Soco director Ho Hei-wah said they planned to turn the two sites into youth hostels for overseas students and, ultimately, to create jobs.

"But the government should consider extending the subsidy period from two to three to five years. Otherwise, the NGOs may be too busy getting enough money to finance themselves and overlook their role in promoting the history of the district and other missions" to help society, he said.

Frederick Fung Kin-kee, leader of Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, said the party was keen to revitalise Lui Seng Chun in Mong Kok, but he refused to disclose how the building would be used.

"We have already found a business partner and professionals to help us," he said.

保育80年穗式騎樓 免景賢里翻版
市建局擬購南昌街兩唐樓
11/11/2007

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【本報訊】為免重蹈景賢里大宅出售後被摧殘的覆轍，市建局正積極研究搶救正招標放售的兩幢位於深水絈南昌街的唐樓，該兩幢戰前唐樓建有碩果僅存的廣州式騎樓，屬二級歷史建築物；市建局亦擬把鄰近的南昌押等古老建築物一併保育。據悉，該局會研究向業主購買有關物業又或與發展商合作。

配合施政報告要求市建局加強保育戰前樓宇，該局最近尠手搜集本港戰前樓宇的資料。據悉，該局已初步選出六十多幢需要保育的唐樓名單，除了上海街約十幢唐樓之外，深水絈南昌街五幢被列為二級歷史建築物的唐樓，該局亦正積極研究搶救。

深水絈南昌街一百一十七至一百二十五號門牌，是上世紀二十年代初建築的唐樓，設有廣州式的騎樓，是區內碩果僅存的建築。有關建築物已有八十多年歷史，當中南昌押的外牆設計簡樸，建有水平帶狀的裝飾及圓形小窗，是傳統唐樓建築。

業主擬自行重建
南昌街一百一十九及一百二十一號的大業主在去年底將整幢大廈招標放售，並獲四間發展商入標。業主委託招標的中原地產商舖高級營業經理葉金豪表示，由於標價與業主的期望有差距，加上近期樓價上升，業主已暫時封盤，正考慮自行重建。

本報記者翻查土地註冊處資料，南昌街一百一十九至一百二十一號兩幢物業，由九龍有限公司於○四年以二千萬元購入。

至於南昌街一百一十七號南昌押，業主為「押業大王」高可寧家族，高家成員一直經營押業。本報致電聯絡南昌大押，但他們拒絕接受訪問。

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Historic police station may be preserved
11 November 2007
South China Morning Post

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The historic Yau Ma Tei police station may be saved in its entirety as the government explores alternatives for the construction of the Central Kowloon Route, sources have said.

They also said the authorities were considering if the nearby Jade Market, which would be affected by the plan, could be relocated back to the Temple Street area after the road was completed.

Robert Chan Cheuk-ming, a senior government engineer responsible for the project, said they were only studying the possibilities of keeping the police station intact. He said a preferred route was expected to be unveiled in May.

The Central Kowloon Route is intended to link the West Kowloon Reclamation area and the future Kai Tak development. The original Highways Department plan was to have the road run through the staff quarters of the 85-year-old police station.

But the idea was rejected by the public works subcommittee of the Legislative Council's Finance Committee last December.

The government's intention to keep the police station was welcomed by legislators and district councillors yesterday. But they were divided over whether the police should remain in the Edwardian-style building, constructed in 1922.

Legislator Kwok Ka-ki said it was good that the whole police station would stay untouched.

He said the place should be used for other purposes if the police there decided to move to the Kowloon West Regional Headquarters.

"The historic building should house community facilities such as a library and clinic since the route construction may require the demolition of the existing library and clinic facilities," he said.

But Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Ng Po-sham said the police should stay there to keep law and order in the area.

About 70 residents, representatives of concern groups and professionals attended a public consultation forum organised by the Highways Department yesterday.

Two more such forums are due to be held next year.

Heritage calls Piecing together the past is becoming a passion
6 November 2007
South China Morning Post

Run your fingers along the red paintwork of the fireboat Alexander Grantham and you might picture it racing to put out the blaze that eventually sank the Seawise University in 1972. The vessel is now the gleaming centrepiece of a new museum of maritime firefighting history in Quarry Bay Park.

Decommissioned in 2002 after 49 years of service, the Alexander Grantham required plenty of science and elbow grease to prepare for public viewing, says Paul Harrison, a metal conservation specialist whose company oversaw the government conservation project in 2003.

"[Because] the boat often had to be painted, there are about 20 layers of paint on top of the ironworks," says Harrison. "We had to take it to a dockyard and get a big sandblaster to blow off all the paint."

Much time was also spent identifying paints that would ensure the long-term protection of the vessel, Harrison says.

The restorers finally settled for epoxy, which is durable but doesn't like sunlight, he says. "That's why polyurethane has to be painted on top of this paint, to protect it."

Harrison, who holds a master's degree in metals conservation, has worked on many historic artefacts in Hong Kong. He spent 18 months as an intern at the Hong Kong Museum of History after completing his first degree in archaeology and conservation in 1985. Later, during a seven-year stint as head of metal conservation with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's conservation unit, his duties often involved maintenance of public objects such as the sculptures in Kowloon Park, the cannons at Admiralty station and the coaches at the Railway Museum in Tai Po.

In his first year with the department, he was sent to restore the Victoria Park statue of Queen Victoria after mainland artist Pun Singlui splashed red paint over the figure in late 1996 and broke its nose in the process.

Harrison's latest assignment is for the local Jewish community, surveying the condition of the 400 gravestones in the Jewish Cemetery in Happy Valley.

Harrison has always been drawn to museums. A chance visit to the University College London's Institute of Archaeology in his teens steered him towards conservation.

Few young Hongkongers, however, are given such insight into the world of conservation. Because there are no undergraduate degree programmes in Hong Kong, all 28 specialists in the LCSD's central conservation unit have a background in chemistry.

Conservation is a broad discipline: it requires dealing with disparate materials, from ceramics and paintings to textiles, photographs and historical documents.

Not only are conservators required to know the history and the science of archaeology, they must also understand the techniques of working in different materials and using equipment from X-ray machines to sandblasters.

Hong Kong conservators develop their skills after they have been recruited through a combination of on-the-job and overseas training. Chan Shing-wai, chief curator of the LCSD's conservation section and the government's longest-serving conservator, was one of the first Hong Kong staff sent abroad for professional training in the 1980s. A chemist by training, he became an assistant curator with the Museum of Art in 1985. Two years later he was sent to the Institute of Archaeology to study for a postgraduate diploma in archaeology conservation.

After 23 years in conservation, Chan says his interest in the science increases every day.

"The most exciting part about this field is that the problems that we tackle are never the same," says the 49-year-old. "Even though we have two fragments which may look similar, the way of conserving them can be very different."

LCSD conservators are called to major archaeological excavations such as the Sha Ha site in Sai Kung, which was discovered in 2002.

On the Sha Ha dig, the conservators collected fragments and related materials such as the surrounding soil, and sent them for sorting, cleaning and piecing together in a laboratory. It's nearly impossible to find all the broken pieces of an artefact, Chan says.

"A [piece of] pottery that is one to two feet tall could be broken into up to 200 pieces, and [may] take at least four months to piece together. The most important thing is that a conservator cannot give up [the job] halfway through, no matter how hard it is."

The pieces don't always fit, he says. "It's like getting a bag of crumbled biscuits which we have to try to piece together although they may belong to different brands," Chan says. "We have to learn to accept failures."

He relishes hands-on work such as restoring the Alexander Grantham, but concedes that such projects require the sharp eyesight and physical strength of younger colleagues.

"The prime time for conservators is when they are in their early 30s, when they have accumulated a sound knowledge of conservation and have the physical strength and sharp mind to carry out the work," Chan says.

That's why he and other veteran conservators want to pass on their knowledge to younger colleagues such as assistant curator Veronica Chan Wing-yan, who is responsible for ceramic artefacts.

Like her chief, the 30-year-old chemistry graduate had little knowledge of museums and conservation before she joined the unit. Six years later, Veronica Chan is hooked on restoration.

"When you go to an exhibition, the artefacts are usually displayed in showcases and visitors may only be able to see one side of the items - normally their most beautiful side," she says. "But every facade can be a wonder {hellip} and we can see those things that others can't see."

Time's running out
Shophouses in Hong Kong are fast disappearing, but a few gems have so far survived amid the march of development
9 November 2007
South China Morning Post

The ground floor is typically a shop or other small family-run business - often of a distinctively traditional Hong Kong nature - such as a pawn shop, Chinese medicine pharmacy, or a mahjong tiles outlet.

Two supporting pillars form a gateway into a semi-private space scented with the vaguely medicinal aromas of yesteryear, the ancestral memories of generations, and a microcosm of Hong Kong's past that has often been lovingly depicted on the screen or in print.

Hong Kong's shophouses - or tong lau - are an "endangered species". However, enough of them remain, especially in parts of Wan Chai and Sheung Wan, for the historical record of Hong Kong's most distinguished existing "vernacular architecture" to endure.

Vernacular architecture denotes buildings constructed using locally available resources to meet local needs, and also an architectural form that reflects the buildings' environmental, cultural and historical context.

Shophouse architecture took shape across Southeast Asia from the late 18th century, enjoyed ubiquity in urban Chinese communities for almost two centuries, before falling out of favour in the early post-war years.

Perhaps it is not a coincidence that the last traditional-style shophouses were built in the late 1950s, just as the novel - and in the 1960 film - The World Of Suzie Wong was inserting Hong Kong's shophouse cityscape into the world's consciousness.

These sturdy utilitarian buildings were built in a pre-globalised epoch, when the lychee never fell far from the tree and air travel was just a remote dream for most.

And so Hong Kong's shophouse architects and engineers were usually skilled neighbourhood friends moonlighting from their mercantile day-jobs, rather than today's well paid jet-setters, whose next project awaits in Shanghai, Dubai or some other locale for whose denizens the sky is never high enough.

The knowledge and methods of vernacular architecture were usually shaped by local traditions rather than worldwide trends conceived in London or New York.

Most of Hong Kong's shophouses enjoy a kind of air-conditioning that relies more on seasonal breezes than electricity and, because of these buildings' modest proportions, they also manage to take the nip out of the occasional cold snap coming from the South China Sea. Shophouses were constructed on a human scale, hence their invisible - yet intuitive - thermostats that make them environmentally friendly.

Shophouses have, over the years, provided the ground-floor premises of almost any business conceivable. Small restaurants, especially Chiu Chow outlets, local-style coffee shops, or cha chaan teng, clinics, barber shops, beauty salons, print shops, commercial garages, schools and clan associations can all be found in these distinctive and distinguished-looking buildings.

On the upper floors, the residential space depends, to a large extent, on the number of storeys.

Most Hong Kong shophouses are two- or three-storeys but, in more central areas and therefore well-heeled parts of town, higher configurations are common.

One of the most conspicuous characteristics of a shophouse is inevitably its narrow street frontage, a proportion that is often deceptive as shophouses generally extend backwards to a far greater depth than is apparent from the outside. In some cases, one can enter a shophouse and pass through to the rear street from an exit at the back.

Hong Kong's shophouses are tangible reminders of the city's heritage at a time when signs of Hong Kong's street-life of the past are increasingly under threat by those in pursuit of the development dollar.

Other regional cities have been more successful at preserving what is Southeast Asia's unique architectural style, as anyone who has recently visited Penang, Malacca, Singapore, or Macau can appreciate - although development plans for Macau's elegantly crumbling Inner Harbour area do not bode well for the hopes of the preservationists' lobby.

Hong Kong's finest examples of traditional shophouses are in Wan Chai, Sheung Wan, Sham Shui Po and other areas that maintain a measure of resistance to the wrecking ball of the property developer. One of the nicest shophouses is in Wan Chai. The exquisitely proportioned Cheong Woo pawn shop on Johnston Road is a reminder of how architecture of the past can co-exist with modern-day skyscrapers in one of the most frenetic parts of town.

Other notable shophouses are nearby at the Johnston Road-Luard Road intersection, a short tram ride away in Sheung Wan, and in the vicinity of Sham Shui Po's Pei Ho Street in Kowloon.

When the weather, lighting and mood is right, arriving in these locales is akin to enjoying a particularly visceral form of time travel. This is a point not lost on local filmmakers and other creative types in the business of distilling the atmospheric vibes of the Hong Kong of yesteryear.

Meanwhile, the city is losing its shophouses one by one - imperceptible losses that may only be fully appreciated when it is too late - and the distinctive vernacular form may one day be found in the Old Hong Kong section of some theme park.

Heritage partnership scheme a step forward
18 November 2007
South China Morning Post

A new scheme to encourage charities and other non-profit groups to help take care of historic buildings is a sign the government is taking a more proactive and innovative approach to heritage preservation. Too often, officials have failed to act until old buildings actually come under threat. This was the case with the King Yin Lei Mansion and Kam Tong Hall - now resurrected as Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum in Mid-Levels - when workers had already moved in with plans to pull them down. The new pilot scheme, announced by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in his policy speech, goes some way towards changing that passive mindset.

It has earmarked seven heritage buildings owned by the government. Services groups are invited to take charge of these buildings - and maintain and open them to the public - in return for paying practically no rent. Initial seed money of up to HK$3 million and expert advice on heritage preservation will be provided. However, preserving these buildings also requires technical skills. The Development Bureau, which runs the scheme, must make sure the successful applicants are up to the job. Teething problems are likely to arise, especially with elaborate structures such as the old North Kowloon magistrate court.

Commendable as the scheme is, the government has neglected other historic buildings it owns, which have already been rented free to NGOs. These buildings include the medical sciences museum in Mid-Levels, the former Aberdeen police station and a former hospital in Sai Yin Pun. The Warehouse Teenage Club, which has operated out of the police station for more than a decade, has to pay for maintenance and repairs out of its own pocket. This amounts to 15 per cent of its annual operating budget of HK$2.5 million.

Currently, these groups are not qualified for the new scheme. However, as it is a pilot scheme, the bureau should seriously consider expanding it to include other non-profit groups that can show they are capable of successfully maintaining such buildings. Gradually expanding this scheme will encourage more groups and people to take part in heritage preservation and education.

Call to reexamine role of `inflexible' URA
19 November 2007
Hong Kong Standard

The Urban Renewal Authority should improve its flexibility and review its role to better complement the government's heritage conservation policy, according to an outspoken member of the Antiquities Advisory Board.

Patrick Lau Sau-shing also suggested that land exchange and transfer of plot ratio could provide a sound incentive to promote heritage conservation among private landlords and developers.

Speaking on Radio Television Hong Kong's Letter to Hong Kong program yesterday, Lau, who is also a legislator representing the architecture, surveying and planning functional constituency, described the present situation as ``very ironic,'' as the authority's redevelopment projects were often restricted by the zoning boundaries set by the government. ``As a result, their working attitude is almost no different from that of a private developer. Therefore, I wish that the authority would review its role and revise its inflexible work strategy.''

Lau urged the authority to adopt a cross-district mentality for achieving ``people-based urban renewal objectives'' to improve the quality of life of residents.

He also said more powers and participatory opportunities should be given to district councils to conserve heritage buildings. The lawmaker said he was pleased with the policy address in which Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam- kuen acknowledged heritage conservation as a key component of quality city life. But he said the document failed to specify arrangements for protecting privately owned historic buildings, noting that a long-term policy is needed.

``I sincerely believe that any sound heritage conservation policy must be supported by the incentives of land exchange and transfer of plot ratio to promote heritage conservation in the private sector,'' he said.

He also suggested that legislation be reviewed to revive historic buildings.

虛擬探索 62景點任揀
網上360度睇古蹟
17/12/2007
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http://www.takungpao.com/news/images/07/12/17/gw-44.jpg
圖：「虛擬文物探索」網頁提供古蹟的背景介紹、平面圖及圖片

【本報訊】互聯網應用愈來愈廣，市民即使足不出戶便可透過互聯網「遊覽」本港歷史建築。古物古蹟辦事處斥資一百三十萬元製作「虛擬文物探索」網頁，市民可以全方位欣賞全港六十二項古蹟，包括屏山文物徑、龍躍頭文物徑及東龍洲炮台等，網站至今已累積逾五萬人次瀏覽。

三千隻光碟派學校
網站使用方法簡單，用戶登入網頁後，除了可找到古蹟介紹、平面圖和圖片外，更可進入網上互動虛擬旅程，三百六十度環迴一覽建築物外貌與內貌，更可用滑鼠隨意拖曳至不同高低角度觀看，由天花、樓梯以至亭台樓閣都可一覽無遺。參與製作的香港文物探知館一級助理館長朱文燕表示，工作人員特別利用魚眼鏡拍攝影片，連古蹟屋頂的精緻裝飾也拍下來，市民有機會連屋頂結構特色也一覽無遺。「虛擬文物探索」網址vhe.lcsd.gov.hk/vhe，古蹟辦另計劃將這些資料製作三千隻光碟下月派發予學校。

Web offers new views of old sites
Hong Kong Standard
Monday, December 17, 2007

The new Virtual Heritage Explorer internet project of the Antiquities and Monuments Office offers 360-degree panoramic views of 62 local historic sites and two heritage trails.

Heritage Discovery Centre curator Ada Yau Lau Kwau-yau explained that the website was designed to enable people to get an orientation before actually visiting the places.

People can join the interactive virtual tour anytime, anywhere through the internet. The site is also intended to arouse people's interest in local heritage. "When selecting these sites, we considered their aesthetic and historical value and suitability in turning them into virtual tours," Yau explained.

The website, at http://vhe.lcsd.gov.hk/vhe/, features photos, background information, 3D floor plans, and 360-degree panoramas of the interior and exterior of locations. Users can explore a monument by dragging the cursor to change viewing angles and zoom in and out.

Assistant curator Katherine Chu Man-yin said the application's 360-degree views makes it different from other virtual tours that show only pictures: they are more interesting and real.

About 3,000 DVDs featuring heritage sites will be distributed to schools and educational institutes.

While encouraging people to visit as many heritage sites as they can, Yau flagged the Ping Shan and Lung Yeuk Tau heritage trails in the New Territories as ideal for one- or half-day trips.

"People can consider visiting these two heritage trails during the Christmas holidays," she said.

" It will be nice to get away from the crowds and enjoy the serenity and beauty of the countryside."

NGOs may get HK$2m more for historic sites
19 December 2007
South China Morning Post

The government may raise the cap on a one-off grant to revitalise historic buildings from HK$3 million to HK$5 million in response to public opinion.

The money will be granted under a pilot scheme to help non-profit organisations maintain and operate the buildings. The government also suggested a specific tenancy of at least three to six years to minimise uncertainties encountered by organisations that reused the buildings.

The proposals were made after the government consulted NGOs on the scheme last month. The idea of collaborating with NGOs was initiated in the October policy address as part of a conservation policy to revitalise government-owned historic buildings that will cost HK$100 million in its first five years.

Nine buildings will be available for application in February, including Dragon Garden in Tsing Lung Tau and the Blue House in Wan Chai.

The government had originally planned to grant the NGOs up to HK$3 million for the first two years.

But some organisations voiced concerns that HK$3 million might not be sufficient for social enterprises operating in larger buildings, the Development Bureau said in a paper submitted to the Legislative Council.

Some were worried that the tenancy would not be long enough to make the operation viable, it said.

The bureau then proposed raising the financial ceiling per building to HK$5 million to cater for large, structurally complex premises. To allay worries, the tenancy would generally last three to six years. The bureau said longer tenancies could be negotiated for good reason.

The enterprises would also get technical guidance on maintaining and repairing historic buildings, the paper said, particularly on architectural features of significance such as mosaic tiles on an internal wall.

NGOs welcomed the government response yesterday but called for more flexibility in approving the funding and tenancy. "It will be even better if the funding can be extended for operations in the first three years," Iman Fok Tin-man of the Society for Community Organisation said.

Heritage policy fails to make the grade
3 January 2008
Hong Kong Standard

Disappointed lawmakers yesterday described the proposed heritage conservation policy as lacking in substance, "with no solid timetable or financial resources".

Under the Development Bureau's proposed policy, incentives such as land exchange and transfer of development rights are considered to be needed in facilitating conservation of privately owned heritage buildings.

Two proposed monuments under such consideration are the partially demolished King Yin Lei mansion on Stubbs Road and Jessville on 128 Pok Fu Lam Road.

The proposal also suggested the government expand repair and restoration assistance to include graded historic buildings, on top of declared monuments.

But the Legislative Council's home panel legislators were not impressed _ as far as they are concerned the proposed policy lacks milestones. Lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip said the proposal failed to mention any law changes to better protect heritage buildings from the threat of urban development, and also did not mention financial resources.

"There is no free lunch _ heritage conservation costs money. With a surplus of HK$50 billion, the government should set up a trust for that purpose," Chan said. "Without investment, talking about conservation is just lip service."

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said heritage conservation has to strike a balance among the different groups, with respect to both private ownership and the government's financial concerns.

With 1,440 buildings having waited in line for years to be graded, legislator Patrick Lau Sau- shing, who represents the architecture, planning and surveying sector, complained the grading committee has been dragging its feet.

The bureau said it has set a target of finishing evaluation within this year, with experts examining about 100 buildings every month.

"King Yin Lei mansion was lucky [to be saved] because people found out early about the proposed demolition," legislator Albert Ho Chun- yan asked. "Other than declaring the qualified buildings as monuments, what tools do we have to protect heritage buildings effectively?"

Lam said the development of the 1,440 buildings still waiting for heritage listing cannot be stopped indefinitely as many of them are privately owned. She said the current system was adequate in alerting the bureau if any demolition work was about to start.

Some parts of the proposal did find favor with lawmakers, such as the setting up of a commissioner for heritage office. The bureau is also studying overseas examples and considering developing a heritage trust.

Legislators also backed the use of seven government-owned heritage buildings for social enterprises to use as was announced in last October's policy address. Proposals from non- government groups are expected next month.

The bureau will ask Legco for HK$100 million to cover five years of operation costs for the seven buildings.

Vanishing Asia: Saving Hong Kong --- The city's heritage wars
11 January 2008
The Wall Street Journal Asia

Hong Kong -- For more than a century, this city has continually razed and rebuilt itself, evolving from trading post to industrial hub to global financial center. These days, though, the impulse toward redevelopment faces increasing challenges from residents hoping to save the few tangible remains of the city's rich history.

Plans to redevelop a sprawling old police and prison complex in the heart of Hong Kong has touched off the latest historical preservation debate. The battle over the landmark pits some of the former British colony's most powerful interests against its residents, including one of Hong Kong's oldest families.

Commerce has long ruled in land-scarce Hong Kong and preservation has usually given way to a tide of urban development. Few of the British expatriates and Chinese immigrants who came to the city with the moniker "borrowed place, borrowed time" saw it as a permanent home. However, since the territory was returned to Chinese rule from Britain in 1997, its local identity has come to the forefront and heritage conservation has taken on the overtones of a populist struggle.

One of its most famous, and shrinking, landmarks -- Victoria Harbor -- has become a flashpoint for conservationists. Since the British took possession of its waters and the surrounding hilly terrain in the mid-1800s, the harbor has been filled in successive stages. Today it is about half its original size.

The most recent reclamation plan, which would have added 45 hectares of prime waterfront real estate, was too much for some residents, who resorted to protests, legal challenges and grassroots campaigns to save the harbor's core from further encroachment. It also spurred demonstrations over two 1950s ferry terminals -- the storied Star Ferry pier and nearby Queen's Pier. Both were demolished to make room for development related to the reclamation plan, which has since been scaled back.

"These recent heritage battles represent a desperate search for a cultural anchor," says Lee Ho Yin, director of the architectural conservation program at the University of Hong Kong. "It's part of Hong Kong people seeking their own identity and roots."

The Central Police Station and Victoria Prison, built between the 1860s and the 1930s, were part of the British colony's attempts at imposing law and order on a population that included pirates and triads, as some criminal secret societies are known. The walled compound was a one-stop shop for the colonial penal authority, housing a police station, a prison, barracks for single officers, a courthouse and, until 1894, an execution ground.

Since the police department moved to new headquarters in 2004, these buildings and spacious courtyards, covering about five acres in a prime location near the city's central business district, have mostly lain empty, closed to the public except during art exhibits or tours arranged a few times a year. The maze of former prison buildings is still ringed by coils of barbed wire.

The Hong Kong government planned to put the site up for public auction. But in 2004, five philanthropic families, led by the wealthy Hotung family, submitted a plan to conserve and redevelop the existing buildings into a visual-arts academy, to be run in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong. They offered $64 million to refurbish and maintain the site on the condition that the government accept a symbolic one Hong Kong dollar for a 50-year lease.

The government passed on the offer, sparking an outcry from conservation groups, architects, and residents. For years the land remained in limbo, until October, when the Hong Kong Jockey Club, a nonprofit organization that holds a monopoly on Hong Kong's legal betting market, stepped in with a $230 million proposal that would be funded by the club's charitable trust.

It proposed preserving most of the existing buildings but also added a new element -- a jagged 152-meter glass tower designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the Swiss Pritzker Prize-winning architects responsible for the "bird's nest" Olympic stadium in Beijing and London's Tate Modern Museum. The Jockey Club would put up costs of capital improvement and manage the operation, while the land and buildings would stay under government ownership. The government accepted the plan in principle, once again stoking opposition.

"In Hong Kong we already have a lot of that kind of building. It's a bit ugly. I think they should maintain the site as it is and just renovate the existing buildings to make them look better," says Mary Angela Tam, an owner of Great Wall Leather Goods Co., a small luggage store behind the police station compound.

"I don't think it is appropriate for the neighborhood," contends Thomas Schmidt, managing director of the Hong Kong firm Sepia Design Consultants, who won a 2005 competition sponsored by architecture and conservancy groups seeking ideas for the redevelopment of the complex.

Aside from practical concerns about increased traffic congestion and blocked views, any redevelopment will have to contend with the site's "collective memory" -- a loosely defined term that has become the battle cry of the recent preservation struggles, invoked over projects from the doomed piers on the waterfront, to the partial demolition of a 1937 Chinese mansion, to plans to tear down old shops and street markets.

The Jockey Club says the tower -- with a design that architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron describe as inspired by the bamboo scaffolding used in construction sites around Hong Kong -- would house museums, galleries, restaurants and theaters on the lower levels. The upper portions would feature "sky gardens" and an observation deck.

"We want more arts and cultural facilities that you can't put into the existing buildings, so in order to do that you need a new building," says William Yiu, executive director for charities at the Jockey Club. He says that to subsidize the operation, around two-thirds of the older buildings would be rented out for shops and restaurants. Only a small portion of the tower would be leased commercially, mainly to restaurants, and it wouldn't become a office building, Mr. Yiu says. "The only thing I can say is, 'Trust us.'"

Robert Ho, a member of the Hotung family, disagrees. "The revitalization plan proposed by the Jockey Club is too slanted towards commercial uses, with large-scale food and beverage and retail outlets that would overwhelm the historical and cultural flavor," he said in a statement in October. Through a spokeswoman, he declined to comment further.

Activists feel local residents have been ignored. "Community engagement should have happened before they went to the drawing board, but what has happened now is totally the opposite, and the design is quite shocking," says lawyer Helena Yuen.

Hong Kong's government recently acknowledged the public demand for greater preservation of the city's historic buildings, in July creating a Development Bureau that will include a yet-to-be-appointed heritage commissioner.

The move is intended to bridge the gap between development and conservation by placing both under the same department. Previously, historic buildings and monuments were treated as part of the city's cultural affairs, and development needs often took precedence, such as when the Victorian-era Hong Kong Club building in the city's central business district was demolished in 1981, despite having been declared a monument. It was replaced with a modern high rise that still houses the club.

Of the police station and prison development, "we have been searching our souls on how to do this project," says Carrie Lam, who heads the new bureau as Secretary for Development. The Hotung proposal didn't provide enough access and facilities for the general public, she says. "Hong Kong people and tourists want activities and action, and they want something that could occupy their time, not just museums."

The Jockey Club's plan is preferable to auctioning off the site to private developers who would focus on maximizing profit, Ms. Lam says. "At the end of the day, if there is a strong body of opinion that the design architecture should be modified, then I'm sure we could find a way to meet the needs of most people," she says. "But you can't just ask around and get everybody nodding with something you believe is in the interest of Hong Kong."

Mr. Yiu of the Jockey Club says he has received requests to save items such as the bunk beds in the prison cells and worn carpeting on office floors. "Someone actually argued that there aren't many iron-roof sheds for parking cars anymore, so we should keep that," he says.

Still, given Hong Kong's recent history of battling over ever smaller scraps of heritage, any demolition on the site would be seen by some as a provocation.

"From the civil society point of view, we need to preserve all of the buildings," says Jeffrey Au, a founder of Heritage Watch, an umbrella organization for conservation groups. "They already cleared out the furniture and fixtures, so it's empty. How can we understand the history of the place?"

Government launches campaign to promote heritage conservation
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Government Press Release

The Government is committed to pressing ahead with heritage conservation work by introducing a range of policy initiatives and building partnerships with non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, made these remarks at the Heritage Discovery Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, today (January 15) at the launching ceremony of the heritage conservation publicity campaign.

These policy initiatives include conducting heritage impact assessment for new capital works projects; partnering with NGOs to revitalise Government-owned historic buildings; using economic incentives to encourage owners of privately-owned historic buildings to preserve those buildings; and setting up a Commissioner for Heritage's Office.

Mrs Lam said that these Government efforts would only succeed with public support. "After all, the care which Hong Kong people have expressed for heritage originated from our passion for our culture and lifestyle and is something we all should cherish," Mrs Lam added.

Mrs Lam shared with guests attending the ceremony progress made on those heritage conservation initiatives since their announcement in the Chief Executive Policy Address last October. She said she was much encouraged by the positive response especially towards the "Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme". The Scheme would be formally launched after obtaining Legislative Council funding approval in February. Eligible NGOs would then be invited to submit revitalisation proposals.

The Development Bureau was launching a public awareness campaign on heritage conservation over the next three months, inviting members of the public to take part in exhibitions, seminars and guided tours to enhance their awareness and appreciation of Hong Kong's heritage. Highlights of the programme included a guided tour of the Yuen Long Ping Shan local heritage conducted by the renowned local designer Mr William Tang, himself an indigenous villager of the Yuen Long Tang Clan; a photo competition to capture the charm and uniqueness of Hong Kong's historic buildings; and roving exhibitions in seven shopping centres throughout Hong Kong.

Mrs Lam also paid tribute to organisations taking part in the exhibition showcasing their respective efforts in heritage conservation. They included the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Urban Renewal Authority, The University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Maryknoll Convent School, the Hong Kong Miniature Arts Society and Queen's College Old Boys' Association.

The Development Bureau has also set up a new webpage on heritage conservation (www.heritage.gov.hk) to enhance dissemination of heritage conservation information and to promote exchanges of views.

"We hope that through this campaign, the public will have a deeper understanding of the importance of heritage conservation, be inspired to contribute their views and ideas, and share our vision for heritage conservation," Mrs Lam said.

At today's launching ceremony, the Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Dr Richard Engelhardt, presented the 2007 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards Jury Commendation for Innovation to the Architectural Services Department for its innovative conservation and adaptation work for the former Whitfield Barracks, now the Heritage Discovery Centre. The barracks, built in 1910, has been successfully transformed with the addition of a new building structure and re-used as a multi-purpose cultural exhibition and education centre after careful and prudent conservation work.

Also officiating at today's ceremony are Chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, Mr Edward Ho, and Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority Board, Mr Barry Cheung.

A major focus of the public awareness campaign is a heritage conservation exhibition at the Heritage Discovery Centre from today to March. The exhibition features various heritage conservation measures and works and introduces successful examples of revitalised historic buildings. Models of beautiful historic buildings will be on display. Bookmarks featuring four such buildings will also be distributed as souvenirs. People can get details of the activities from the webpage on heritage conservation (www.heritage.gov.hk).

@HKskyline

Thank you very much for keeping the update going....

Nurses win heritage appraisal for threatened quarters at Queen Mary
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, January 24, 2008

A heritage assessment will be conducted on a 70-year-old hospital building after conservationists and nurses raised concerns over its proposed demolition.

The Hospital Authority is planning to knock down the nurses' quarters at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam this year to make way for an accident and emergency and acute trauma and cardiac care center.

Answering a question by medical-sector lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki yesterday, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said the quarters is not listed as a graded building.

In reply, Kwok said:"Quite a number of staff from the hospital and conservationists believe the building should be preserved."

Conservancy Association chairwoman Betty Ho Siu-fong welcomed the assessment, saying the value of the building must be determined before it can be demolished. Chow defended the hospital's plans saying they would provide expanded state-of-the- art facilities, which would meet strong public demand for specialized tertiary services.

"We will carry out a heritage impact assessment and then review and consider the feasibility of the works project," Chow said.

In his policy address last year, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said all public works projects involving historic buildings would have to undergo such assessments so that their conservation could be considered during the project-planning stage.

Tsang's pledge was part of a package of government initiatives on heritage conservation following a number of high- profile disputes between conservationists and the government.

URA plans to revamp 65 tenements
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Urban Renewal Authority will next month unveil its revitalization plans for 65 tenement houses in Hong Kong.
Authority chairman Barry Cheung Chun-yuen said the houses, ranging from Grade I to Grade III, had been identified and the authority will announce an "action plan" of revitalization by the end of March.

The direction of their conservation and rejuvenation will be similar to the authority's newly renovated tenement building at 18 Ship Street, which has been transformed into an organic restaurant scheduled to open this weekend.

It is the authority's first such project and Cheung noted the cost of renovation would have to be balanced alongside the building's historic value.

The Grade II building, built in the late 1930s, was the home of the Tse family, which ran an architectural contract business.

Most of the three-story building's elements were kept intact, such as the moulding on the facade and the former company's golden engravings, brass handrails and patterned tiles typically found in early 20th century buildings.

A similar renovation of the former Woo Chang pawn shop on Johnston Road is to be opened as a restaurant in April.

Cheung said the booming economy will not be a deterrent to redeveloping old districts, although acquisitions will be more difficult.

The owner of the Ship Street restaurant, Margaret Xu Yuan, also runs an organic delicacies restaurant. She said she strolled by the old building one day and fell in love with the nostalgic atmosphere. She named the restaurant "Yin Yang" and said it will specialize in local delicacies cooked with organic ingredients.

The restaurant now has a touch of the early 20th century with round wooden tables and chairs in white coverings with navy borders.

The authority injected HK$3 million into renovating the building, and outfitted it with a lift, a washroom for the handicapped and a fire escape.

Xu will pay monthly rent of HK$40,000 plus 12 percent of turnover.

Also announced yesterday was the appointment of URA's executive director Quinn Law as its new managing director.

Law has been with the authority for three years, and had previous experience in property investment and business strategy formulation.

船街唐樓300萬翻新 變身高級私房菜館

http://www.mingpaonews.com/20080226/_26GO002_.jpg
http://www.mingpaonews.com/20080226/_26GO003_.jpg


(明報) 02月 26日 星期二 05:05AM

【明報專訊】市建局 花300萬元翻新逾70年歷史的船街18號唐樓，令3層高住宅舊樓搖身一變成為高級私房菜館，主打以有機材料和港式概念的中菜佳餚，預計本周正式開業。餐館負責人徐蒝表示，船街唐

樓有不少裝修和樓面限制，甚至打釘掛上餐館招牌也不准，但她對唐樓外貌一見鍾情，亦配合其食店風格，就算盈利有限也在所不惜。

「我一見到船街18號唐樓就一見鍾情，不顧一切也要租下它……看這個唐樓露台，令人想起在巴黎 後街，一個個女士站在露台的風貌。」經營私房菜多年的徐蒝，一直尋覓一幢特色樓宇經營餐館，一天她途經灣仔莊士敦道，發現唐樓和昌大押正式翻新，她遂主動與政府洽商，租下毗鄰的船街18號3層唐樓，化身為「鴛鴦飯店」。

本土風貌 主打港式中菜

徐蒝說，樓宇有不少限制，如每層樓面狹小，最多只擺4張餐，容納約30人，大廈外牆均不得改動，廚房地台更要升起，保護原來地磚。她笑言，甚至在外牆打一口釘掛招牌也不准，現時也不清楚如何展示招牌。

但她稱，樓宇外貌充滿本土風貌，切合其主打精緻港式中菜的風格，而每名食客消費約500元，走高檔路線。她自備大型石磨製造豆品和大米等，更在新界自設農田種植有機蔬菜，確保食物新鮮。

船街18號屬二級歷史建築，於1930年興建時屬木製樓房，至二次大戰 後改建為水泥結構。多年來大樓保養十分良好。住宅每層有狹長露台和鑄鐵欄河等特色，屋內地磚、水磨批盪樓梯及木扶手等懷舊裝修均保存下來。市建局則斥資300萬元為之加固，並加建升降機和消防設施等，確保符合消防條例。



船街唐樓變身有機懷舊餐廳

(星島) 02月 26日 星期二 05:30AM
(綜合報道)



(星島日報 報道)市建局 近年重視保育工作，該局首個活化項目昨日終於正式出台。早年由謝氏家族捐出的船街十八號唐樓，經復修後已化身為一間懷舊餐廳「鴛鴦飯店」，店主表示會以新鮮有機材料，烹調特色的香港中式佳餚作招徠。

　　斥200萬元復修

　　本身是二級歷史建築物的船街十八號唐樓，屬於三十年代晚期之建築，由於原本是經營建築業務的謝氏家族物業，樓宇保養較為完整。謝氏家族早年將物業捐出後，市建局與發展商嘉華動用逾二百萬元進行復修，包括加入升降機及消防設施，以配合現代建築物條例的需要。

　　經招標後，船街十八號由一直經營懷舊餐廳的徐蒝投得，將會改名為「鴛鴦飯店」經營。徐蒝表示，餐廳會保留傳統的烹調方式，將一些原本被視為「野家菜」加入新元素，推行以新鮮有機材料烹調特色的香港中式菜餚。她說，已特意租用了一塊農地，以供應食物的材料。

　　最低消費每位$560

　　她笑言，原本起初是打算租用同樣招租的和昌大押，後來有人向她表示可考慮租用船街十八號，眼見該唐樓的建築特色而「一見鍾情」，即使明白以歷史建築作食肆，地方其實並不「見使」，也未必合乎成本效益，仍不顧一切租用下來。

　　她說，謝氏家族的後人依然十分關心船街十八號狀況，也曾經前來了解建築物作食肆時的改動情況。

　　「鴛鴦飯店」於下周才正式投入服務，雖然每位食客的最低消費需要五百六十元，但亦不乏問津。徐蒝說，由於餐廳每次最多只可以容納約三十名食客，三月份的周六和周日座位，早已被訂滿。記者 歐志軍

　　

Interesting video on Globe & Mail today

Hong Kong's high-rise jungle
http://images.theglobeandmail.com/RTGAM_Archive/images/20080227/whongpoint0227/changing_skyline160x80.jpg
Debate rages about how to protect Hong Kong's few remaining historical sites

video: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/video/vs?id=RTGAM.20080227.wvhongkong0227

URA considers buying heritage buildings
3 March 2008
South China Morning Post

The Urban Renewal Authority is considering buying some pre-war buildings with Cantonese-style terraces in order to preserve them.

But other options, including providing incentives to the owners to properly maintain the buildings, would also be considered, the authority's chairman, Barry Cheung Chun-yuen, said.

An action plan outlining how these pre-war buildings would be preserved is to be submitted to the URA's board for consideration later this month.

"These buildings represent part of Hong Kong history," Mr Cheung said. "Not many buildings with such architectural merits are left. The community will approve it as a way of preserving Hong Kong's history."

Mr Cheung said buildings with Cantonese-style terraces were scattered around the city, including in Mong Kok, Prince Edward, Wan Chai and Sham Shiu Po. Most were in private hands, he said.

A classic example of such architecture is the Woo Cheong Pawn Shop in Johnston Road, Wan Chai. The four-storey building is preserved by the URA and will be converted into commercial use. A shophouse at 18 Ship Street, a grade two historical building in the same district, has been converted into a restaurant after refurbishment.

"We can't compel the owners to keep the buildings," he said. "I hope to work with them, providing them with incentives [to preserve the buildings]."

So far, the URA has preserved seven of the pre-war buildings.

His comments follow last week's budget in which Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah pledged that the URA would use part of a HK$10 billion injection to strengthen its work to revitalise old areas and preserve old buildings.

Mr Cheung pointed out that preservation work was costly and there were no financial returns. "For redevelopment projects, our objective is to break even so that we can generate resources to compensate the residents," he said. "But for the preservation projects, we need resources that are separately allocated."

`Lack of vision' on disappearing landmarks
Hong Kong Standard
Monday, March 10, 2008

The Urban Renewal Authority's projects, from the demolished Wedding Card Street in Wan Chai to Sneakers Street in Mong Kok, have in recent years drawn strong opposition from local communities.

This has resulted in planners and academics warning the government to revamp the role and strategy used in revitalizing the city.

Lee Ho-yin, director of Hong Kong University's architectural conservation program, said the statutory body's existence "is fundamentally a contradiction."

"This is a conflict of interest," he said, adding that the authority's agenda should be to redevelop for the public good, and not to function like private developers to maximize profit.

The authority was established in 2001, with the government fronting HK$10 billion to carry out urban renewal.

With no further funding, the authority has to be self-sufficient through joint redevelopment ventures with developers.

Projects like the demolished Wedding Card Street and the proposed Sneakers Street project were criticized by residents and conservationists for destroying streetscapes and community networks. Lee said the current public participation involves only information sessions offering limited choices, and true public voices are not reflected.

Planner Peter Cookson Smith said the authority is taking an overly simplistic view on redevelopment, without sophisticated evaluation. "The current approach is not done with neighborhood sense. It should facilitate small-scale or incremental redevelopment," he said.

The Development Bureau will conduct a review of the urban renewal strategy in the next few months.

蘇記茶莊

(明報) 03月 10日 星期一 05:10AM

【明報專訊】三代人的心血，由60年前開始。走近蘇記茶莊，陣陣茶葉蛋味迎面飄來，舖中笑臉迎人的陳婆婆急不及待送上熱辣辣的蛋，然後就跟你說茶道。她跟丈夫在深水經營茶莊，一幹就是50年，


「我們的根就在深水，不會改變」。

自丈夫離世，就由長子蘇大揮接手，蘇大揮為免母親辛勞，負責到外送貨取貨，「有時只剩下媽媽，我也很擔心，幸好左鄰右里互相照應。」蘇說，每當他或母親上了廁所，隔壁的商戶便會幫忙「看舖」。有一次，有消防員買茶時見婆婆要將茶葉罐搬上搬落，待她秤好就出手將罐子放回原位，「那會有客人幫你幫到如此地步？那些其實已不是客人，已成為我們的朋友」。

茶莊情濃，除見證於街坊守望襄助，還收藏於一張張手寫紙條中。婆婆小心拿出鐵罐，解釋裏面不同紙條的來源﹕「這個伯伯，移民了還留下我們的地址給兒孫，指明叫他們來買茶葉寄給他……那個X生，幫襯了我們幾十年了……」

三代人的茶莊，服侍三代顧客，「你看他們長大，他們又看我老，哈哈！」說起茶莊，陳婆婆臉上流露自豪，「我時常說，客人對我們這樣好，哪裏也找不到，我和兒子要為丈夫留下來，守此舖」。

Owners backtrack on vow to save mansion


(SCMP) 04月 08日 星期二 00:03AM


The owners of a historic mansion in Pok Fu Lam say they are reconsidering their promise to save the 77-year-old building from demolition.


The government - which recently denied the mansion monument status, which would have ensured its protection - came under fire yesterday after the owners' position became clear. Lawmakers accused officials of naivety for relying on the owners' goodwill to protect the heritage building.

The mansion, commonly known as Jessville, was given no legal protection from being pulled down after the government withdrew its temporary monument status in February. The Secretary for Development, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, decided not to give it monument status, saying expert findings by the Antiquities and Monuments Office had deemed it not up to the high threshold. It was a grade three listed building.

The planning consultant for Jessville's owners, Ian Brownlee, said the owners wanted to consider all options available as there was no legal reason why they could not get rid of the building.

He said the original plan - to transform the mansion into the private clubhouse of a residential development - were formulated with the understanding it would be rated a monument.

"With the Antiquities Advisory Board deciding not to make it a permanent monument, there is no reason for the owner to continue to keep the house," Mr Brownlee said.

They would continue talking to the government about possible economic incentives to encourage the owners to preserve it, he said.

The government had been negotiating with the mansion's owners over the fate of the building before the case was brought to the Antiquities Advisory Board in January. The owners had initially said they would keep the house even after it was only listed as a grade three building.

Mrs Lam said yesterday the government had commissioned experts to assess the mansion's value when it was declared a temporary monument. "The experts' views should not be compromised because of public pressure [to keep it]."

Legislator Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, chairwoman of the Legislative Council's subcommittee on antiquities and monuments, said the government would be to blame if the mansion was knocked down.

"The government should have known better that the building would be given no legal protection once the one-year temporary monument order was lifted. It is wrong to shift the burden to individual owners, believing that they would preserve it out of the goodness of their hearts."

Lawmaker Patrick Lau Sau-shing, who is also a member of the Antiquities Advisory Board, said it was disappointing that the owners had refused to keep their promise.

A spokesman for the Development Bureau said the preservation proposal put forward by the owners of the building was of a voluntary nature and the government did not rule out the possibility of the building being demolished.

He said that unlike the case of the King Yin Lei mansion in Stubbs Road, there had been no agreement between the government and the owners on any economic incentives to allow development to proceed while preserving the building.

But they had also indicated to the Town Planning Board that they did not support any proposal involving demolition.

Heritage mechanism poor, minister admits
10 April 2008
South China Morning Post

The mechanism to protect heritage buildings in private ownership was "passive" and "not very desirable", the secretary for development said yesterday.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made the comment during a Legislative Council meeting to discuss a motion to repeal a withdrawal order for Jessville, at 128 Pokfulam Road, as a temporary monument.

Civic Party legislator Audrey Eu Yuet-mee put the motion, which was defeated.

Mrs Lam said the government had not entered into any agreement with the owners to ensure the 77-year-old mansion would not be demolished. But she would continue talking to the owners and offer economic incentives to keep the house.

Even if the mansion were to face demolition tomorrow, it would not be declared a temporary monument," Mrs Lam said.

"The completed assessment had shown that it was not up to the high standard for a declared monument," she said.

Mrs Lam said the mechanism to deal with potential monuments in private hands was passive and the government would only get involved if the owners had taken action. "The system is not very desirable, but we hope that the government would be given time to handle heritage conservation-related work," she said.

The government would consult the Legislative Council before withdrawing the order next time.

The owners are still considering whether to demolish it.

They had pledged that they would keep the mansion even if it was not given monument status.

Ms Eu said the system for handling heritage buildings under private ownership was inadequate and unfair to the buildings' owners.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng said heritage assessments would be made on the Old Pillbox, a stone house and former Royal Air Force site in Diamond Hill, which could be affected by construction of the Sha Tin to Central rail link depot.

市建局今年重點保育廣州式唐樓


(星島) 04月 19日 星期六 10:42AM

市建局 行政總監羅義坤表示，市建局已因應市民的訴求進行多項保育工作，而今年市建局的工作重點是研究保育廣州式唐樓。羅義坤在一個電台節目上指出，市建局過去數年已因應市民的訴求，進行灣仔

和昌大押、九龍城衙前圍村等多項保育工作，希望透過保育、活化歷史建築，保留該區特色。而今年的工作重點也是保育廣州式唐樓，希望在保育及重建之間取平衡，政府稍後將檢討市區重建 策略，期望市民踴躍發表意見，達致市建局的工作更符合市民期望。羅義坤指出，波鞋街重建設計會擴闊行人路，減少地面店鋪，一、二樓發展成商場，估計項目會錄得虧蝕，但可改善現時惡劣的居住環境，預料現時三分一的波鞋街店鋪(約20間)會受重建計劃影響，部分商戶在重建期間獲安置在麥花臣球場繼續經營，重建後可以市值租金搬回波鞋街。至於觀塘重建項目，羅義坤預料年底展開收購工作，由於項目規模龐大，需時逾10年，現正進行前期工作，以縮短重建時間。

Lawmakers clash over conservation policy
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The government has approved the development of a controversial low-value ecological site at a country park as part of its nature conservation policy, the panel on environmental affairs revealed yesterday.
But lawmakers and green groups hit back, claiming the scheme did not go far enough to preserve country parks and that development should not be encouraged on green-belt land.

Sha Lo Tung is the first of 12 privately owned sites, earmarked by the government for conservation, to receive the green light for development by the Advisory Council on the Environment.

In exchange for developing an educational retreat and columbarium complex on low-value land, the owner will surrender all valuable land to the government, which will plough HK$120 million into conservation.

But Environment Secretary Edward Yau Tang-wah said there were still issues to iron out and the scheme is subject to Town Planning Board approval.

The government rejected five other applications under nature conservation policy, sparking criticism of the slow- pace and narrow scope of the scheme.

Lawmakers argued the scheme at Sha Lo Tung represented only 0.5 percent of the 12 sites identified by the government, and that a more sustainable option would be plot ratio swaps.

They said the government should not target country parks for development. Yau argued that the scheme was a sustainable option as it gave power to the landowner to conserve the land through the project.

Gov't Press Release:
Maryknoll Convent School declared a monument (with photos) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200805/16/P200805160101.htm)

From the Gazette (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2008&month=5&day=16&vol=12&no=20&gn=135&header=1&acurrentpage=12&df=1&nt=s2&agree=1&gaz_type=ls2&part=1&newfile=1&pid=)

龍津碼頭或影響啟德規劃

http://orientaldaily.on.cc/photo/20080523/new/0523nhko52b1.jpg

23/05/2008



【 本 報 訊 】 九 龍 城 原 啟 德 機 場 北 停 機 坪 地 皮 發 展 在 即 ， 政 府 最 近 發 現 地 皮 下 埋 有 逾 一 百 三 十 年 歷 史 的 龍 津 碼 頭 ， 由 於 考 古 隊 伍 仍 正 進 行 挖 掘 及 分 析 ， 預 計 下 半 年 內 將 完 成 ； 若 發 掘 到 的 遺 需 全 部 保 留 ， 北 停 機 坪 上 原 擬 興 建 的 公 屋 及 私 人 樓 宇 的 計 劃 可 能 受 影 響 ， 甚 至 是 沙 中 線 的 啟 德 站 走 線 也 有 機 會 要 改 道 。 有 學 者 指 港 府 過 去 對 文 物 保 育 毫 不 重 視 ， 令 不 少 古 蹟 無 法 重 見 天 日 ， 促 請 當 局 原 址 保 留 石 橋 ， 以 免 重 蹈 皇 后 碼 頭 的 覆 轍 。

龍 津 碼 頭 是 繼 中 央 書 院 及 山 頂 舊 總 督 別 墅 後 ， 香 港 近 年 另 一 具 歷 史 價 值 的 考 古 發 現 。 龍 津 碼 頭 位 於 九 龍 寨 城 對 出 ， 由 百 多 件 石 板 搭 成 ， 又 稱 龍 津 石 橋 。 一 八 九 八 年 滿 清 將 香 港 割 讓 予 英 國 時 ， 堅 持 保 留 九 龍 寨 城 及 龍 津 碼 頭 以 宣 示 國 家 主 權 ， 其 後 滿 清 以 碼 頭 作 為 海 關 據 點 抽 稅 。 一 九 二 ○ 年 商 人 何 啟 和 區 德 在 九 龍 城 海 邊 填 海 建 造 啟 德 濱 海 住 宅 區 ， 將 龍 津 碼 頭 填 平 。

停 機 坪 發 現 龍 津 石 橋 石 板
發 展 局 發 言 人 指 出 ， 政 府 ○ 一 年 曾 在 啟 德 進 行 考 古 勘 察 ， 當 時 並 無 發 現 ， 土 木 工 程 拓 展 署 上 月 初 再 在 啟 德 進 行 考 古 時 ， 在 北 停 機 坪 發 現 十 多 塊 石 板 及 其 他 石 構 件 ， 未 知 是 否 與 龍 津 石 橋 有 關 。 有 關 的 完 整 的 石 板 長 約 四 點 五 米 ， 寬 四 十 五 厘 米 ， 厚 約 二 十 五 厘 米 ， 暫 未 發 現 其 他 文 物 。

她 表 示 ， 勘 察 研 究 報 告 今 年 下 半 年 內 完 成 ， 現 階 段 未 能 評 估 對 啟 德 發 展 的 影 響 ， 若 確 定 有 關 發 現 為 龍 津 石 橋 ， 該 局 會 持 開 放 態 度 考 慮 各 種 保 育 方 案 。

按 照 啟 德 分 區 計 劃 大 綱 草 圖 ， 啟 德 北 停 機 坪 是 啟 德 重 點 發 展 區 ， 內 會 有 中 密 度 住 宅 及 兩 個 公 屋 發 展 計 劃 ， 涉 及 一 萬 多 個 公 屋 單 位 ； 而 沙 中 線 更 會 於 啟 德 設 站 。 房 署 發 言 人 表 示 ， 該 署 初 步 了 解 遺 址 的 位 置 ， 認 為 應 不 會 影 響 到 區 內 的 公 屋 計 劃 ， 但 具 體 詳 情 仍 要 待 發 展 局 的 勘 察 完 成 後 始 可 確 定 。 港 鐵 發 言 人 表 示 ， 會 於 沙 中 線 的 環 境 影 響 評 估 中 ， 跟 進 有 關 事 宜 。

香 港 大 學 地 理 系 副 授 吳 祖 南 促 請 政 府 原 址 保 留 龍 津 碼 頭 ， 以 免 重 蹈 皇 后 碼 頭 的 覆 轍 ， 他 指 「 古 蹟 拆 就 冇 得 返 轉 頭 ， 政 府 必 須 慎 重 處 理 。 」


一 八 七 五 年 建 的 龍 津 碼 頭 ， 由 二 十 一 根 花 崗 岩 柱 建 造 成 直 通 城 寨 的 東 門 。

Subsidies for heritage buildings
12 June 2008
South China Morning Post

Owners of graded buildings are to be offered subsidies and technical help to refurbish and maintain their run-down structures, the new commissioner for heritage, Jack Chan Jick-chi, has revealed.

Speaking at his first media briefing since his appointment in April, Mr Chan also said he was still in negotiations with the owners of Jessville - a 77-year-old mansion in Pok Fu Lam threatened with demolition - and that their differences had been "narrowed down".

The top official in charge of protecting the city's built heritage said the government was considering extending financial help to maintain the facade and structure of graded buildings in private hands.

Graded buildings listed by the Antiquities Advisory Board are protected only by administrative measures, not by law. Currently, only declared monuments are looked after by the government.

"As we are spending public money on these graded buildings, owners have to ensure that they will not pull down or sell the buildings shortly after the refurbishment has been completed. They should make the buildings open to the public to varying extents," he said.

Mr Chan said the government was still working on details of the scheme, but the opening hours of each graded building might differ according to the owner's wishes. "Priority [to offer subsidies] will be given to those that are seriously run-down, with greater historical significance or owners with limited financial ability to conduct such works."

There are 494 graded buildings in Hong Kong. Mr Chan said he was the co-ordinator of the project to save the Jessville mansion. The owners had threatened to tear it down unless the government backed their plan to erect three multi-storey residential blocks on the site.

The mansion was declared a proposed monument last year. But it was later denied this status after the government said it received an assurance from the owners that it would be kept as a residents' clubhouse.

Mr Chan said some creative ideas had been put forward by non-governmental organisations.

"There is suggestion to turn Tai O police station into a boutique hotel," he said. "Other ideas for other buildings include a foot massage salon, Chinese medicine hub and Buddhism studies centre."

He said the committee assessing the proposals aimed to award the right to revitalise seven buildings by the end of the year.

Those seven are the old Tai Po police station, Lui Seng Chun tenement building in Mong Kok, Lai Chi Kok Hospital, North Kowloon Magistracy, the old Tai O police station, Fong Yuen Study Hall in Ma Wan and Mei Ho House in Shek Kip Mei.

Central School site views gauged
27 April 2008
South China Morning Post

The commissioner for heritage says the government will keep an open mind about the future of the Central School site in Hollywood Road.

Jack Chan Jick-chi was speaking yesterday at the first government forum staged to gauge the public's views about the site where police married quarters were built over the remains of the school.

Central School educated some of Hong Kong's best-known figures, including the "father of modern China" Sun Yat-sen, who attended the school when it was in Gough Street. It moved to Hollywood Road in 1889.

The forum in Sheung Wan was one of a series of public consultations over three months which the government started in February. About 40 people attended the forum, including district councillors, a heritage concern group, alumni of Queen's College - as Central School is now known - architects and residents.

Central and Western District Councillor Yuen Bun-keung said he would prefer that the lower block of the two police blocks be retained. The other block could be demolished to make way for leisure facilities, which were few in Central and Western District.

Another man, surnamed Lo, suggested the site be redeveloped into a major tourism spot or used as a venue for discussion forums.

Former Queen's College student and Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre adviser Peter Lai Hing-ling said he hoped the historic site would be used for educational purposes.

"I think it should not be used to do something incompatible with education," he said.

Mr Chan said the government welcomed all views. "So far there is no concrete plan yet for the future of the site, we are open to all views," he said.

The Heritage Department will report to the Legislative Council home affairs panel in June or July.

Back plan or mansion goes: owners' ultimatum
Contractors ready to knock down historic Jessville
17 May 2008
South China Morning Post

Owners of a historic mansion in Pok Fu Lam have threatened to tear it down unless the government backs their proposal to erect three multi-storey residential blocks on the site.

Ian Brownlee, planning consultant for Jessville's owners, said the hoardings were in place in preparation for demolition, but they had no definite schedule for work to start.

The 77-year-old structure, declared a proposed monument last year, was later denied monument status after the government said it had an assurance from the owners that the mansion would be kept as a residents' clubhouse.

The building was later classified by the Antiquities Advisory Board as a grade 3 listed building, which gives it no legal protection.

"We have no reason why the building can't be demolished," Mr Brownlee said. "The talks with the government have made no progress and the owners are ready to push ahead with the demolition plan."

He said the owners only wanted the government to agree to their proposal, which would enable development with a plot ratio of three, which was permitted under the outline zoning plan. "I don't know why the government does not support the proposal. We want to find out."

The owners propose to build three residential blocks of 13 to 27 storeys with 102 flats around the historic building. No extra land is needed, but the towers closest to the mansion will only be separated from it by a few metres.

A spokeswoman for the Development Bureau said the government had not received an application from the owners to demolish the mansion and had not entered any agreement with the owners on development density.

"We support an option which can achieve 'preservation-cum-development'," she said.

The Southern District Council had raised objections to the proposed scale of development and was worried the owners' rezoning proposal might have negative visual and traffic impacts.

Lawmaker Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, who chairs a Legislative Council subcommittee on the heritage status of Jessville, said it would be an administrative blunder if the mansion were torn down. "The government decided to lift the temporary monument status of the mansion. Now, the fate of the house is entirely in the hands of the owner," she said.

Legislator Patrick Lau Sau-shing, an Antiquities Advisory Board member, said the board would be "cheated" by the government if the demolition took place.

"We agreed to giving a grading to the mansion after getting reassurances from the government that it is to be preserved," he said.

The government should give the owners the right to realise the development potential of the site if the mansion could be preserved, he said.

updated 8:45 p.m. EDT, Sun July 6, 2008

Does good design mean design for good?

By Dean Irvine

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Living in Hong Kong I'm confronted each day by the delights and the diversity that architecture can inspire. The spectacular skyline of central Hong Kong encapsulates all the power, wealth and initiative that the city is built upon; I can take a walk through the concrete canyons of Kowloon and the high-density towers drip with life, stories and intrigue.

When it comes to preserving its architectural heritage, Hong Kong is famously unsentimental, tearing down blocks of old Chinese building in favor of lumpen tower blocks, reflecting not just the high cost of real estate, but the high-pace of life and the adapt-or-die mentality that drives the city.

Buildings are not just the everyday furniture of life then; architecture, as historian Joseph Rykwert says, acts as a "metaphor for society."

The texture of a city is important, but it's clear that buildings have a far greater impact beyond the visual, with estimates that buildings contribute over 30 percent of total global greenhouse emissions.

During the sticky summer months Hong Kong's addiction to air-conditioning goes into overdrive; on a morning walk through the city you can see frost forming on the inside of windows.

Rather than being a cause of our energy concerns and climate change, design and architecture can have a positive impact.

Today, architects designers and engineers charged with constructing new buildings or even whole cities have even more to consider than just how energy efficient or attractive they are.

But what do we mean by good design and does it necessarily mean it is design for good?

It's the key question that will be discussed and debated at the second Principal Voices debate in Singapore on July 9, hosted by Michael Elliott, international editor of TIME Magazine, and CNN's Michael Holmes.

Designers and architects across the world are embracing the challenges of improving our urban environments but how important is the social element in the equation? From ensuring public spaces in cities to providing essential services for those most at need, what is the best way to achieve this?

Already tackling the issues of sustainable design with the immediate needs of people at its heart is Cameron Sinclair, one of the Principal Voices who will be at the debate.

Executive Director and co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, Sinclair is committed to devising solutions to disaster struck areas, most recently Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis.

Improving lives takes precedent over improving cityscapes, but can the spectacular be married to the sustainable? What place is there for superstructures and signature buildings if they don't address the key issues of the community?

It may be easier to achieve harmony if you start from a blank slate, and new eco-cities could be one method.

Fellow Principal Voice panelist Peter Head, will also be in Singapore, and is the master planner of China's first eco cities, Wanzhuang Video. Its dirt roads will be transformed into a city of 300,000 run solely on renewable energy.

Can it create the balance between society, the natural environment and economics? Will it become a model for development or will it be a lonely exception to urbanization?

Joining Sinclair and Head on the panel will be Milton Tan of Design Singapore, Moses Wong of the Temasek Design School and Aw Kah Peng of EDB Singapore.

Coming from a city that prides itself on its modernity they will be well placed to tackle another point of 'Design for Good'; how can modern cities cope with improving infrastructure and reducing carbon emissions?

There maybe local solutions to each question, and innovative ideas and designs being put into practice across the world. The debate in Singapore could provide a blueprint for even more solutions in the quest for Design for Good.
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Quoted from http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/04/hong.kong/index.html

^^ never realized there is a pool sit down below the main building which is already lower than stubbs rd,

Seven-year lease 'too short to recover cost'
30 June 2008
South China Morning Post

Getting the private sector to take part in conserving and using historic sites and buildings to ease the burden on taxpayers may not be feasible, a wine industry professional says.

Gregory De'eb, of Crown Wine Cellars, said the short-term leases to use such culturally meaningful sites might deter private corporations that have the interest and financial backing in converting them into sustainable and accessible heritage locations. This was because the initial cost of development might not be recovered during the relatively short lease period, he said.

The estimated cost of building the initial infrastructure for the Lei Yue Mun bunkers would be HK$20 million.

It is a huge sum for just 3,300 sq ft of space, but to Mr De'eb it is the limited time to recoup the cost that matters as a company may not be able to achieve this in such short a period.

Mr De'eb cited his experience with turning the Central Ordinance Munitions Depot, known as Little Hong Kong during the second world war, into wine cellars.

"It cost us HK$20 million just for the construction of Little Hong Kong {hellip} and it was a private project that had never been done before," he said, adding that the total initial business and construction cost for the wine cellars was about HK$30 million.

He said it was fortunate the business model had worked out, but if the cellars failed to renew the lease after the seven-year tenancy for Little Hong Kong ended in 2010, it would be a big financial problem.

The Development Bureau did not say whether it would be possible to alter the short-term lease system to attract more private organisations to develop heritage sites.

"The Lands Department is responsible for the consideration and allocation of the short-term use of vacant government land that is not yet required for permanent development," a bureau spokesman said. "When considering the suitable use, the constraints and cost effectiveness of the available sites will be taken into account. For sites which are found suitable for commercial use, these would generally be processed by way of public tender."

民社申活化雷生春變中醫城
2008年7月19日

http://www.mingpaonews.com/20080719/_19GM005_.jpg
http://www.mingpaonews.com/20080719/_19GM003_.jpg







【明報專訊】有否想於在古色古香的深水雷生春內看中醫、喝涼茶；又或是在本港首座落成的公屋美荷樓留宿一宵？民協社會服務中心(民社中心)昨公布將與中國宏興行藥業合作，申請將活化古蹟計劃中的雷生春改裝成中醫藥管理中心，提供賣藥、診療、展覽等服務；而石硤尾村美荷樓則化身青年旅舍。兩項目的前期工作預計分別需1000萬元，民社已向政府遞交申請書，預計最快9月中會公布結果。

4層為中藥店涼茶店診室展館

民社中心主席馮檢基昨在記者會表示，本年6月已向政府申請參與兩項活化古蹟計劃。其中雷生春將與有360年歷史的中醫藥公司中國宏興行合作，將雷生春分為4層經營﹕地下為中醫藥店出售中藥；2樓為藥膳湯水涼茶店，更可供客人預訂湯水；3樓為「治未病」診療室，為客人提供推拿、針灸等服務；4樓則為分別以中成藥及雷生春為主題的展覽館。

中國宏興行藥業控股有限公司執行董事曾大志表示，計劃又包括為雷生春安裝、樓梯、升降機、玻璃幕牆等，預計前期建築物裝修加固工程約需1000萬元；宏興行預計投資3000萬作後期工作，如從國內聘請著名醫師等，預計1年後即可回本，並將部分收益撥作本港中醫藥研究基金。

美荷樓變身青年旅舍

至於本港首座公屋美荷樓，則與學而國際交流中心合作，設計成一站式青年旅舍及文化活動展覽中心，展覽本港公屋歷史。設計包括在現時兩座大廈的中間加設一座一層高的展覽館，將兩座大廈的地下連貫，而展覽館將是拱型設計的玻璃建築；另會在美荷樓西南面加建客用及服務用升降機。頂層則會引入環保概念加設太陽能發電裝置，為大廈走廊燈供電。

改建200多房 房價每晚數十元

學而國際交流中心執行董事李啟德指出，前期改建工程估計超過1000萬，改建後的青年旅舍共有200多個房間，預計房價每晚數十元，一年後回本，所得盈餘則會成立文物保育基金。現時雷生春及美荷樓分別有37及17項申請，最快將於9月12日得知首輪招標結果。

Plans to revitalise old buildings unveiled
19 July 2008
South China Morning Post

A political group and its partners yesterday showcased their proposals to transform two historic buildings into a Chinese medical centre and a youth hostel.

The Lui Seng Chun shophouse in Sham Shui Po, and Mei Ho House, a former public-housing block in Shek Kip Mei, are among seven old buildings scheduled for renewal that have drawn 114 proposals from non-profit groups.

The Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood Social Service Centre and China Hongxinghang Pharmaceutical Holdings want to establish a Chinese medicine shop, herbal-tea room, clinic and museum in the four-storey Lui Seng Chun building.

China Hongxinghang executive director David Chan Tai-jee said it planned to invest HK$30 million in the building, the former home of Kowloon Motor Bus founder Lui Leung.

"The ground floor will sell Chinese medicine to the community. The second floor will have a shop to sell herbal tea to help the public keep healthy," he said.

The third-floor clinic would handle inquiries about Chinese medicine as well as offering treatment, while the top floor would house a museum dealing with Chinese medicine and the building's history.

The plan would preserve the character of the building as far as possible but lifts and new staircases would be needed to comply with building and fire-services requirements, Mr Chan said.

The open verandas would be enclosed with glass so the interior could be air-conditioned. ADPL Social Service Centre chairman Frederick Fung Kin-kee said adding glass would enable full use of the verandas without any safety problems.

The plan - put on show at the Dragon Centre in Sham Shui Po - is one of 30 received by the Development Bureau for the building under the government's Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme.

For Mei Ho House, the last remaining building of the city's first public-housing estate, the ADPL Social Service Centre has teamed up with the International Scholars Exchange Centre for a youth hostel proposal. It features a solar-energy system on the roof to supply part of the power for the lighting.

The executive director of the International Scholars Exchange Centre, Edward Lee Kai-tak, said Hong Kong lacked facilities for young people to share views with overseas youngsters.

Mr Fung said social enterprises such as this aimed to help people in the community.

"In the future, we hope to provide more job opportunities through social enterprises, especially for disadvantaged workers," he said.

The revitalisation plan also includes Lai Chi Kok Hospital, North Kowloon Magistracy, old police stations at Tai O and Tai Po, and the Fong Yuen Study Hall in Ma Wan.

A good start on saving city's historic buildings
4 September 2008
South China Morning Post

One positive legacy the Hong Kong government is likely to leave is a commitment to protecting our physical heritage. Since being named the city's first heritage commissioner in April, Jack Chan Jick-chi has been busy setting up schemes and subsidies to encourage people to preserve historic sites. The latest subsidy plan aims to finance the upkeep of privately owned buildings with a heritage grading. This is a welcome move.

In return for receiving a subsidy, owners will promise not to sell or tear down the buildings, allow experts to inspect them, and open them to public viewing to varying extents. While this is a good idea, the money allocated to the scheme appears insufficient for the purpose. Each qualified owner will receive a maximum subsidy of HK$600,000; the entire budget for the programme this year is just HK$2 million. This will only be enough to finance a handful of properties, yet it is estimated owners of more than 200 private buildings may qualify for help under the scheme.

Furthermore, not all owners will be interested. Some may want to redevelop their properties; others do not want to be bound by stringent conditions. For example, the owners of Jessville, a 77-year-old mansion in Pok Fu Lam, and the King Yin Lei mansion in Stubbs Road, have been keener on exploiting the sites' commercial value than preserving the houses. There will be times when such owners need to be compensated monetarily or through land swaps. In the long term, a public trust should be considered to finance such deals.

But for owners who wish to preserve their properties, the new programme may be an attractive option. Officials have hinted that more money may be made available in coming years if owners respond favourably to it. The programme follows an earlier subsidy scheme aimed at non-governmental organisations under which those which lease government-owned heritage sites receive financing for their upkeep. Taken together, both schemes present a promising means to promote the preservation of privately and publicly owned heritage buildings. No doubt they can still be much improved, but the government has made a good start.