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4 January 2005

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1. LegCo to debate development of the West Kowloon Cultural District

2. Pressure builds on Tsang over mega culture project

3. Firms line up for KCRC project

4. Dilbert by Scott Adams

1. LegCo to debate development of the West Kowloon Cultural District
Hong Kong Government, 4 January 2005

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (January 5) at 2.30pm in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on development of the West Kowloon Cultural District.

The motion, to be proposed by Hon Alan Leong Kah-kit, says: "That, as the Administration has decided to award the development of the 40-hectare West Kowloon Cultural District ("the WKCD development") to a single consortium in one go and allows the public only 15 weeks to comment on the three proposals selected in the first stage, such course of action has failed to ensure the optimal use of precious land resources in Hong Kong and safeguard public interests while nurturing arts and culture, this Council strongly asks the Administration to:

(a) extend the consultation period to six months to allow sufficient time for public participation;

(b) make public all the proposals submitted to the Government by persons interested in participating in the WKCD development, including information on financial arrangements, so as to enable the public to fully grasp the details of the development proposals during the consultation period;

(c) remove the requirement that the canopy, which requires huge funds to construct, be a mandatory component of the WKCD development;

(d) withdraw the decision to award the entire piece of land together with the WKCD development by way of one single tender, and break the lot into smaller pieces of land for public tender or auction in the market by batches so that small and medium developers in Hong Kong can participate in the development, with a view to maximizing the proceeds from the land sale; and

(e) formulate long-term and sustainable policies on Hong Kong's arts and culture, use the proceeds from the sale of the 40 hectares of land to support and promote the related policies and, in drawing up the specific details and implementing the policies, allow institutionalized participation of the civil society and, in particular, solicit and adopt the views of the local art and cultural sectors."

Hon Cheung Hok-ming, Hon Chan Yuen-han and Hon James To will move separate amendments to Hon Alan Leong Kah-kit's motion.

Members will also debate a motion on the Fourth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force.

The motion, to be moved by Hon Albert Jinghan Cheng, states: "That this Council expresses deep regret that, in the Fourth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force published recently, the Government has disregarded public opinion and rejected the demand of the majority of Hong Kong people for the election of the Chief Executive and all Members of the Legislative Council for the next term by universal and equal suffrage, but has failed to put forward a specific proposal; furthermore, as the Government has an unshirkable constitutional duty to answer, as far as possible, the public's strong demand for universal suffrage, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously present to the Council a constitutional reform proposal, which includes the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2008, to facilitate discussion by the public and this Council."

Hon Miriam Lau will move a resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the

(a) Telecommunications (Designation of Frequency Bands subject to Payment of Spectrum Utilization Fee) (Amendment) Order 2004;

(b) Telecommunications (Method for Determining Spectrum Utilization Fees) (Third Generation Mobile Services) (Amendment) Regulation 2004;

(d) Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 2004; and

(e) Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2004, which were laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 15 December 2004, to the meeting of 2 February 2005.

Meanwhile, the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works will move two resolutions under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to amend the Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation and the Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility)(Amendment) Regulation 2004, which were laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 3 November 2004.

Hon Choy So-yuk will address the Council on the two regulations.

On bill, the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (Amendment) (Macau) Bill will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings. Debate on the bill will be adjourned.

During the meeting, Members will also ask the Administration 20 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.

The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the Legislative Council InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the Legislative Council web site (http://www.legco.gov.hk).

Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Legislative Council Chamber. They may reserve seats by calling 2869 9399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

2. Pressure builds on Tsang over mega culture project
Cannix Yau, The Standard 4 January 2005

Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang is expected to face mounting pressure to switch to a new approach in his handling of the HK$40-billion West Kowloon cultural district development.

The pressure comes from a rare united front of legislators across the political divide.

Members of the democratic camp, the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) have decided to jointly press Tsang, who is in charge of the mega project, to scrap his approach to a scheme which is seen as merely another property project like Cyberport.

They want him to either drop or review the much-criticised single-developer approach, to extend the public consultation period from 15 weeks to six months, and to set up a statutory arts and culture body to supervise the planning, development and management of the project.

The Liberal Party, headed by James Tien who last month accused Tsang of seeking to bolster his Chief Executive prospects by trying to gain the favour of tycoons, promised to support the united front. Despite widespread suspicion that the government and the developers may be colluding in the deal, Tsang has insisted that a single developer for the 40-hectare project is the right way forward.

Barrister Alan Leong of Article 45 Concern Group will kick off the latest calls by moving a motion in the Legislative Council tomorrow. He will claim that the current ``course of action has failed to ensure the optimal use of precious land resources in Hong Kong and safeguard public interests while nurturing arts and culture.''

He will call for the government to extend the consultation period to six months, to make public all the information on financial arrangements by the bidders, to remove the requirement that the canopy be a mandatory component of the project, to withdraw the single-developer approach, and to use the proceeds from the land sale on the project and related arts policies.

The DAB's Cheung Hok-ming will move an amendment to Leong's motion calling for a review of the single-developer approach while FTU's Chan Yuen-han will urge the government to re-establish a culture and heritage commission dedicated to the planning of cultural development projects.

Democrat James To will call for the use of part of the proceeds from the project's land sale on arts and culture policies and the setting-up of a West Kowloon cultural district development authority to supervise the project.

3. Firms line up for KCRC project
PEGGY SITO and ERNEST KONG, SCMP 4 January 2005

Developers have shown initial interest in Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp's 1.81 million square foot residential project in Wu Kai Sha, which is up for tender this quarter.

Cheung Kong (Holdings), New World Development, Wharf (Holdings) and K Wah International said they intended to bid for the project to enlarge their property portfolios.

Cheung Kong executive director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung said: "I expect the project will be very popular among land-hungry developers."

Developers said they would bid aggressively as the project would be an important source of land supply this year.

Wharf assistant director Ricky Wong Kwong-yiu said: "It is believed that developers will face obstacles to successfully applying for land sites on the application list, with our offers failing to meet the government's target prices.

"As a result, there will be a small number of public sites offered for auction this year."

Under the application list system, a developer proposes a price to the Lands Department and undertakes to offer that amount. If the government's target price is met, the parcel is brought to tender or auction.

Mr Wong said the government had no intention to cut its reserve prices despite repeated calls from developers.

"Not only the Wu Kai Sha development, other property projects owned by the two rail firms - KCRC and MTR Corp - will be developers' focus this year," he said.

KCRC yesterday placed an advertisement on English and Chinese newspapers, inviting expressions of interest in the residential development at Wu Kai Sha Station on the newly commissioned Ma On Shan railway line.

The project will provide 2,528 flats with a floor area of 1.81 million sqft, along with 43,000 sqft of retail space.

Property agents estimated investment costs at about $7 billion, based on an accommodation value of $2,700 per square foot.

New World Development sales and marketing director Barbara Ho Ng Yin-yue is optimistic about the development at the Wu Kai Sha Station despite its relatively remote location.

"Tseung Kwan O used to be a pretty remote area, but as it has rail access, which is followed by improved facilities, the district now turns out to have good potential for residential development," Ms Ho said.

4. Dilbert by Scott Adams
SCMP 4 January 2005