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1. S*A*R with Tom Hilditch

2. Learn from mistakes, say architects

3. Symbolic post-war landmarks also need to be protected, say experts

4. HK tour operators show little concern for ethics

5. Officials powerless to act over Rottweiler mauling

6. Antony Leung 'tried to buy Mercedes'

7. Sarah Liao remains most popular minister

8. Cartoon

9. Indirect tax on maids violates rights covenant

10. In praise of Anna Wu

11. Why Hong Kong's freedom of information is at risk

12. Dave Barry at SCMP

1. S*A*R with Tom Hilditch
SCMP, 12 March 2003

love HK, but I wish ... Antony Leung would take me shopping before next year's budget. (Lee Suk-yee)

2. Learn from mistakes, say architects
Patsy Moy, SCMP 12 March 2003

The junction of Des Voeux Road and Pedder Street, pre-1926, with the Post Office on the right and the old Jardine House on the left. SCMP photo

Hong Kong should learn from the mistakes of the past 30 years, during which a countless number of architectural classics have been knocked down to make way for urban redevelopment, critics said yesterday.

Among the buildings lost within the lifetime of most of today's city planners are the General Post Office on Des Voeux Road, Central, and the Kowloon-Canton Railway terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The General Post Office, built in 1911, was torn down in 1976 and replaced by World Wide House, a curtain-wall commercial building, after the post office was moved to its existing site by the harbour front in 1976.

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Terminus, which was built in 1910, also saw its fate sealed when the terminus was moved to a new building in Hunghom in 1975. The old terminus was knocked down three years later.

The site has become a public square outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, but the terminus' clock tower was retained as a Tsim Sha Tsui landmark.

Lee Ho-yin, honorary assistant professor of the Architecture Department at Hong Kong University, said it was "such a big waste" to knock down buildings he described as classical pieces.

"Look at the craftsmanship of the General Post Office building," he said. "It was gorgeous. Every small detail of the building was so delicately defined.

"As for the former Kowloon-Canton Railway Terminus, it didn't occupy much space and it really should have been retained.

"It would be a beautiful sight to have a splendid, classical building standing by the harbour front in Tsim Sha Tsui.

"The railway terminus would also have been perfect to serve as the front entrance for the Cultural Centre.

"As an architect, I feel sad whenever I come across old pictures of those buildings which are gone forever. This shows how important it is for the government to protect the remaining buildings before more treasures are turned into ashes and disappear from this city."

Architect Edward Leung Yee-wah, a member of the HKU architectural conservation programme, said: "While our Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung was trying to remind the community of social harmony through Below the Lion Rock, a popular Canto song from the '70s, he should also keep the buildings that are filled with those memories and sentiments.

"We are not asking the government to keep all old buildings, but we should select those with good quality craftsmanship or those with a special meaning for Hong Kong."

The South China Morning Post yesterday highlighted calls from experts for a conservation policy to save hundreds of buildings that are threatened with demolition.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office said: "A policy review is under way to evaluate existing legislation and policy on heritage preservation. Upon completion, a consultation exercise will be organised to seek comments from members of the public."

3. Symbolic post-war landmarks also need to be protected, say experts
PATSY MOY, SCMP 12 March 2003

The government has been urged to extend conservation protection to unique post-war buildings that are symbolic of Hong Kong's history.

The appeal was made by architects and conservationists who expressed concern over the fate of some post-war buildings that they said had significant social and aesthetic value.

But they said the roles of some of the buildings had been diminished, such as the passenger terminal building of the former Kai Tak airport and City Hall in Central.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office has granted 77 buildings monument status and graded 498 as historical, mainly those constructed before World War II.

Architecture expert Lee Ho-yin, from the University of Hong Kong, said the concept of conservation should not just be confined to historical considerations but also include a building's social and aesthetic value.

"What gives a building life and soul is the activities that have taken place inside. The buildings are built to serve certain purposes, they are all associated with the tradition and the customs [of the times]," Dr Lee said.

"However, there seems to be a feeling that buildings which were built after World War II somehow are not heritage - that is incorrect. Some buildings built after World War II are just as important as those built before the war."

But the architecture professor said that both the community and the government should decide which premises were worth conserving and which were not.

Gordon Ng Ting-leung, chief executive of the Conservancy Association, said: "Heritage buildings should also include those which are unique and can represent Hong Kong, even though they may be considered new buildings. For example, the former Kai Tak airport is a legend. Whoever flew into Kai Tak must have been amazed by its location, in the busiest part of Hong Kong and surrounded by buildings.

"I am sure many Hong Kong people share memories of having delicious meals in the surrounding restaurants in Kowloon City before they got on the plane."

Mr Ng also said the old Kai Tak airport had shared in the glamour of Hong Kong, with it once staking a claim to be the world's third busiest airport.

According to the Housing, Planning and Lands Department, the former passenger terminal building, which has become temporary government offices and an entertainment centre since the airport was moved to Chek Lap Kok in 1998, will be redeveloped into a railway depot.

Architect Edward Leung Yee-wah, also a member of the university's architectural conservation programme, said it was only a myth that Hong Kong would not have enough land for redevelopment unless existing buildings were knocked down.

"We have only used up 15 per cent of our land, including 5 per cent for residential purposes," Mr Leung said.

"In Singapore, 15 per cent of the land has been built on for residential use alone. Excluding green areas and agricultural land, almost half of Hong Kong's land still remains unused.

"Singapore, which is half our size, can conserve its buildings. Therefore, Hong Kong does not have an excuse not to make a move.

"However, the Hong Kong government is always trying to find an easy way out by knocking down existing buildings instead of exploring new sites for redevelopment to avoid the works for new infrastructure."

Central's City Hall is also among conservationists' concerns. The 41-year-old complex had been under threat from a government road proposal, but it has been temporarily saved from demolition since the road was re-routed last year.

Lynne DiStefano, of HKU's architecture department, said: "The whole complex of City Hall is important not only in terms of its design but also for the social amenities it has long provided for the people of Hong Kong, specifically the library and concert halls.

"There is a misconception that bigger is better. The theatres in City Hall may be relatively small by today's standards but new theatres 10 times bigger may not be suitable for particular performances.

"City Hall, as a venue for cultural performances, has a warm, intimate quality that appeals to a broad cross section of people in Hong Kong."

4. HK tour operators show little concern for ethics
HEIKE PHILLIPS, Environment Correspondent, 12 March 2003

Tour operators have been accused of being "out of step" with international trends by showing complete disregard for responsible tourism.

None of the 121 operators surveyed by the University of Hong Kong was able to provide a written policy on its responsibilities towards protecting the environment or communities in countries where they operate.

"I am quite shocked to find nobody had a policy and only about six or seven operators said they were thinking of introducing one," the environmental governance programme's deputy director, Richard Welford, said. "This is completely out of line with other countries, especially in Europe."

Professor Welford said that in Britain, more than 50 per cent of tour operators claimed to have some sort of policy on responsible tourism and 25 per cent planned to develop one.

Last November, members of an international network of tour operators agreed to report on 56 key areas, including employment practices and wages, protection of cultural heritage, sustainable development of destinations and environmental practices such as recycling and sewage treatment.

But the Travel Industry Council has no plans to introduce such a policy for tour operators in Hong Kong. The council's chief executive, Joseph Tung Yao-chung, said this was the responsibility of the host country.

"A tour operator, when organising a tour, will have a receiving agent in the destination country. If the agent passes on any guidelines or information on what tourists should or should not do, then the operator will definitely pass this information on to the customer," he said.

When questioned about the lack of a policy on responsible tourism, the businesses surveyed in the study replied that they "cannot see why a policy would be needed", or "we do not have any significant impact on the environment" and "our customers have not asked for it".

But Professor Welford believes local tourist operators should take responsibility for the impact their operations may have.

"They have an ethical obligation to ensure that tourists don't spoil tourism. Operators should make sure that destinations are being protected," he said, adding that the industry should learn lessons provided by destinations such as Benidorm, in southern Spain, where the environment had become so degraded by rampant developments that tourists no longer wanted to go there.

Professor Welford argues that the increase in tourism in developing countries - estimated to account for more than 10 per cent of holidays involving travel abroad - should not be at the expense of local communities, workers or the environment. He said Hong Kong businesses may in fact be missing out on a major business opportunity.

A survey last year on behalf of the Association of British Travel agents found 52 per cent of Britons would be more likely to book with a tour operator that had a written code of conduct guaranteeing good working conditions, protection of the environment and support of local communities.

"We are now carrying out a survey in Hong Kong, asking tourists whether the reputation of a company matters to them when they make a booking. We don't have final numbers yet, but so far many have said that it does," Professor Welford said.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates the water needed to sustain 100 tourists for 55 days could be used to grow rice to feed 100 villagers for 15 years. Benidorm now has to import water from Madrid just to keep its 30,000 swimming pools filled.

5. Officials powerless to act over Rottweiler mauling
CLIFFORD LO and MAY CHAN

No action is likely to be taken against an owner or her dogs after a domestic helper was badly mauled by a pack of Rottweilers at a Yuen Long village house.

Staff from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said yesterday they were powerless to act because the 10 Rottweilers involved in the attack were all licensed and the incident happened on private property.

But neighbours described the Rottweilers as "frightening". They said they kept their distance and that the dogs barked constantly when they went past. "I'm always afraid they will get out somehow and attack me," one woman said.

A department spokeswoman said it would have to complete the investigation to find out the cause of the attack before considering the next step.

"Up to this stage, we do not see any problem against the pet owner and her dogs. All the dogs are licensed and the attack occurred in a private area where the dogs do not need to be put on a leash," she said.

"Our colleagues have visited the scene but so far no indication suggested the pet owner did not provide proper care to her dogs.

"If the 10 Rottweilers are not found to be infected with rabies . . . they will be returned to their owner."

The domestic helper, who suffered bites to her head, body, arms and legs in the attack on Monday evening, was yesterday recovering in Tuen Mun Hospital. Her condition had improved from serious to stable.

Police have not confirmed the identity of the woman, who is in her 30s. Initial reports suggested she was Sri Lankan.

She was attacked when visiting a friend - an Indonesian domestic helper - who is hired to take care of the 16 Rottweilers at the two-storey house in Ma Tin Pok Tsuen, Tai Shu Ha Road East, Yuen Long.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department director Thomas Chan Chun-yuen said existing laws for large dogs were adequate.

Under the Dangerous Dogs Regulation, any dog over 20kg must be kept on a leash when in a public place but is not required to be muzzled.

Doris Yiu Wai-fun, of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the government should review the laws.

"The government is passive and acts only if there is a tragedy. After this attack, it's time for the government to discuss and review animal welfare and come up with comprehensive legislation for the welfare of animals," she said.

The department spokeswoman said the maximum penalty for pet owners who failed to exercise proper care was a $10,000 fine.

In the first two months of this year, 39 people were successfully prosecuted for failing to care for their pets. There were 340 reports of dog-bite attacks.

6. Antony Leung 'tried to buy Mercedes'
AMBROSE LEUNG and LOUISA YAN, SCMP 12 March 2003

Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung was desperate to buy a Mercedes in January, but pulled out of the deal when he realised the car could not be delivered until shortly before his Budget, it was claimed yesterday.

The suggestion, made on Commercial Radio by a caller who said he was a car dealer, adds a new twist to the row over whether Mr Leung breached conflict of interest rules by buying a luxury car, a Lexus, ahead of announcing tax increases on new vehicles in last Wednesday's Budget.

Mr Leung's press secretary, Raymond Tam Chi-yuen, would not confirm or deny the claim, which has fuelled allegations that the purchase of the Lexus 430 was not merely an oversight.

Mr Tam promised that the financial secretary would provide further details on the car purchase controversy when he attends a special hearing at the Legislative Council on Monday.

The caller, who only gave his surname as "Lam", said days before the Lunar New Year, which was on February 1, Mr Leung and his wife, Fu Mingxia, who was then heavily pregnant, arrived at his shop and asked whether the dealer sold a Mercedes-Benz of a particular colour.

"On that day Mr Leung and his wife personally came to the shop looking for a car. Some colleagues asked him: 'The Budget is coming soon, is there a tax rise?' [Mr Leung] smiled without answering.

"He came in hastily, asking for a particular colour and asked whether we have the [car in] stock. We said it would only be available in February. And he said it was not okay, and left.

"We sell parallel import cars. We had a feeling that Mr Leung was quite desperate to buy a car and he did not want to wait. The same type of car from an authorised dealer would take a few months [to arrange]."

Asked if he could confirm the details, Mr Tam said: "Except God, the couple and the car dealer, who else would know what happened?" He added that he would not comment on Mr Leung's personal matters.

But Mr Tam said Mr Leung had agreed to attend a meeting of the Legco constitutional affairs panel on Monday, and had promised that he would respond in detail to questions raised.

Andrew Wong Wang-fat, chairman of the panel, said his colleagues would quiz Mr Leung on why he bought the car ahead of announcing tax increases. He also said members would look at whether Mr Leung had breached conflict of interest rules. The Legco house committee will also discuss the issue next Friday.

Emily Lau Wai-hing of the Frontier said the new revelation might show "the matter was not so simple", and called on Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa to look into the incident.

In response to the row, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung said the government would take the experience of the incident into account when studying whether there is a need to review rules for ministers later this year.

7. Sarah Liao remains most popular minister
SCMP, 12 March 2003

A survey by the Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong showed that the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Sarah Liao Sau-tung, remained the most popular government minister, with a score of 61.8 marks. The Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Stephen Ip Shu-kwan, came a distant second with 54.1 marks. Although the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Yeoh Eng-kiong, ranked third in the popularity ratings with 53 marks, his rating dropped by 1.8 marks from a similar popularity survey carried out last month.

8. Cartoon
SCMP, 12 March 2003

9. Indirect tax on maids violates rights covenant
Letters to the Editor, SCMP 12 March 2003

Few will disagree that something has to be done to reverse our budget deficit, but treading on the poor and the unrepresented is not the answer. The government, no doubt on good advice, chose to impose an indirect tax on foreign maids by using its executive power under section 14 of the Employees Retraining Ordinance, thereby avoiding a debate in the Legislative Council.

What the government cannot avoid, however, is a likely infringement of basic human rights and the rule of law.

The government has time and again said it fully respected the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) enshrined in Article 39 of our Basic Law. Article 26 of the ICCPR states: "All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground" such as race, colour, sex, national or social origin or other status.

In the case Gueye versus France, France in 1974 passed legislation introducing differential treatment of Senegalese soldiers, as compared to French citizens, with respect to their military pensions, which resulted in their level being frozen. These soldiers of Senegalese nationality had served in the French army before the independence of Senegal in 1960. The Human Rights Committee found no evidence of racial discrimination but held that differentiation by reference to nationality acquired upon independence fell within the scope of "other status" in Article 26 and constituted discrimination.

An indirect tax on foreign maids only represents tax differentiation treatment, as compared to other workers, with reference to their race, colour, sex, national or social origin or other status in our society.

In this respect, the government is not only abdicating its responsibility to safeguard equal treatment of all under Article 26 but committing a discriminatory act.

Perhaps it should carefully reconsider whether such a tax is vital to the rescue of our economy, or proper respect to human rights and the rule of law is more important.

RONNY K. W. TONG, S.C., Central

10. In praise of Anna Wu
Letters to the Editor, SCMP 12 March 2003

Three cheers for Equal Opportunities Commission chairwoman Anna Wu for standing up to the government in pointing out the inequities in singling out the weakest members of our community for a punitive tax ("Reverse pay cut on maids, says EOC boss", SCMP City, March 8).

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

11. Why Hong Kong's freedom of information is at risk
Margaret Ng, SCMP, 12 March 2003

The Official Secrets Ordinance was passed in June 1997 as a deal between the governments of China and Britain, to satisfy the Article 23 requirement that Hong Kong prohibit the "theft of state secrets".

In wording, the legislation protected the interests of Britain. In practice, Hong Kong media and researchers were seldom interested in confidential information relating to the UK. Also, Britain was believed to use restraint in applying the law to prosecute journalists and researchers.

This became very different after 1997. Under the law, the protection of Britain's interests became the protection of China's interests. Since Hong Kong journalists and researchers are involved every day in handling "confidential" information about China, the threat is now a real one.

China's sensitivity about when its interests are affected is much greater than Britain's, and has resulted time and again in the loss of liberty for the alleged transgressor.

Take, for example, section six of the existing ordinance: a person commits an offence if he retains "for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United Kingdom or Hong Kong any official document . . . when he has no right to retain it".

This provision is particularly worrying because it falls within the part on "espionage" copied from the English Act of 1920, and proof is made very easy for the prosecution. Although it is now doubtful whether the provision is compatible with human rights protection in Britain, the Hong Kong government is retaining the whole part unchanged.

Some have suggested that the original proposal in the consultation document has been substantially narrowed, and the threat to freedom of information is now acceptable; especially if a defence on the grounds of the public interest, or that the information has already been made available in the public domain, can be added to the bill.

This improvement is largely illusory, if one considers that the harm of laws suppressing freedom mainly do so through creating a chilling effect. They do this by making the law uncertain and the penalty drastic, so that people will exercise self-censorship. The two major proposals in the consultation paper were the creation of a new category of protection of information relating to the relations between the Hong Kong and central governments, and the creation of the new offence of unauthorised disclosure of protected information.

One improvement in the blue bill cited as reassurance for journalists' concerns is that "public servants" will be redefined in the ordinance to exclude non-Hong Kong public servants. So an official in the mainland or one posted to Hong Kong would be excluded.

This redefinition is really more for the purpose of making sure that the Hong Kong legislation cannot be used to prosecute mainland officials. This "improvement" does not help the journalist or researcher.

Another improvement is that "unauthorised access" is changed to "illegal access", meaning by means of theft, burglary, robbery, hacking or bribery. It is doubtful how much of a help the "improvement" is in practice, because the offence is committed if one merely "has reasonable cause to believe" that the information has been obtained at some stage by someone using one or the other of these illegal means.

It is easy to get lost in the jungle of legal technicalities of the law. But at the end of the day, what the journalist or researcher wants, and what is needed for the protection of a free press and freedom of information, is very simple: give us clear and certain laws that would allow everyone to see for himself that no one will be caught for normal activities taken for granted in a free society.

A great deal also lies beyond the letter of the law itself. Journalists are afraid of the implementation of Article 23 legislation partly because it is difficult to trust that the Hong Kong government will take a different stance from that of the central government. Before the handover, Hong Kong offered a haven. Unfortunately, journalists can have no confidence that the law in Hong Kong still protects them against the severity of mainland law and politics, or that the Hong Kong government has any wish that it should do so.

Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee is a legislator representing the legal profession.

12. Dave Barry at SCMP
SCMP, 8 March 2003

When we think of Winsonsin, we think of it as the nation's Heartland - a placid place where you can park your car anywhere and leave it unlocked, with the key in the ignition knowing that no matter how long you're gone, when you return, your car will be covered with cheese.

But, more important, your car will still be there, because Wisconsin is a decent, honest place, populated by decent, honest, chunky people.

Or so I always thought. But then I received, from several alert readers, a shocking articles from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, written by Marilynn Marchione. This article describes an evil, almost unthinkable activity that is raging out of control in Wisconsin, and threatens to infect Minnesota [the nation's Spleenland] and lowa [the nation's Pancreaticglandland].

What is this activity? I will answer that in two shocking words, which you probably never thought you would read in a family newspaper : under tampering.

Yes. There are men in Winconsin who are deliberately using artificial means to make their cows udders more attractive. Why? Because these men are very, very lonely.

No, seriously, they are doing it to win livestock shows. These are competitions in which cows are judged on various characteristics, kind of like human beauty-pageant contestants, except the cows are more likely to know what "Iraq" is.