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1. Politician group plans North Point cultural hub

2. Heritage and development must exist side by side, says Tsang

1. Politician group plans North Point cultural hub
Staff reporter , The Standard 29 January 2007

A number of politicians, including two pro-Beijing lawmakers, have formed a group aimed at turning North Point into a financial, cultural and entertainment hub.

The North Point Development Alliance was set up Sunday by legislators Choy So-yuk of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong and Wong Kwok-hing of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, as well as eight councillors from Eastern District. It said it will work with community leaders and business and cultural organizations to improve living conditions in North Point, which has a large Fujianese community and is a popular shopping area with new migrants and tourists from the mainland.

Alliance member Kwok Wai-keung said one of their main goals is to turn the district into a new cultural landmark.

"We've got prominent landmarks like the Bank of China Tower and International Finance Centre in Central, as well as the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, but there aren't any in North Point. We hope to develop the former North Point Estate site into a cultural hub," Kwok said.

He suggested that the government build a six-story multi-purpose cultural complex on the site of the Sunbeam Cinema on King's Road after its lease expires.

The cinema is popular with both locals and mainlanders as it is the only cinema in the SAR that specializes in staging Cantonese opera.

Kwok said the government could also redevelop the North Point ferry pier into a viewing terrace, providing a venue for the public to get closer to Victoria Harbour .

"It could stimulate the local economy and improve living conditions in North Point," he said.

The alliance has also proposed other measures, such as developing a food street at Tin Hau to help boost the economy, and urged the government to resolve traffic congestion and related problems, and improve environmental conditions in the district.

Choy rejected suggestions that the the alliance was set up with an eye to the district council elections in November.

2. Heritage and development must exist side by side, says Tsang
JIMMY CHEUNG , SCMP 29 January 2007

Heritage conservation should not be carried out at the expense of infrastructural development, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said yesterday.

Entering the debate on the definition of collective memory, fuelled by the Star Ferry pier controversy, he called for more members of the public to express their views, to help strike a balance on the way forward.

"The growing interest in what we call collective memory has sparked something of an awakening in our community," he said in RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong .

He said different people cherished different memories, varying from scenes of clashes or celebrations to individual experiences like a daily ferry ride.

"They are unique to every one of us, highlighting the difficulty of finding an answer to the heritage conservation question that satisfies everyone."

The government was caught off guard last month when a group of young people staged a rowdy protest at the Star Ferry pier in Central in an attempt to stop workers from tearing down the clock tower, seen by commuters as part of their collective memory for half a century.

Mr Tsang said he was touched by the outpouring of sentiments and admitted that such voices could not be heard within the government's consultation machinery at present.

"After all, these collective memories apply just as much to me as to them," he said. But he warned that there was a worrying trend and that Hong Kong 's development was in danger of being hampered by insufficient and slow public investment.

"This is the result of a serious misunderstanding that development and conservation are mutually exclusive," he said.

The public, Mr Tsang said, had to appreciate that investment in infrastructure was vital for Hong Kong to remain a world city. Conservation also needed money.

"We cannot afford heritage preservation if we do not preserve our economic sustainability. The two go hand in hand."