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1. China advances backwards down socialist path

2. Guangdong doctor may have triggered pneumonia outbreak at Kowloon hotel

3. Anti-desert warrior triumphs over adversity

4. Cartoon

5. Body found in plane from HK

6. Officer's hair colour pulls her career back

7. Panicked guests flee from 'virus hotel'

8. S* A * R with Tom Hilditch

9. Warning sounded on hotel boom

10. Developers in dash to enter fray

11. Construction company fined $12,000 for mosquito breeding violation

12. Twenty building plans approved in January

13. LCQ2 : Reclamation project affects significantly WIL Phase 2

14. LCQ8: Protection of private historical buildings

1. China advances backwards down socialist path
JAKE VAN DER KAMP, SCMP 20 March 2003

How interesting to see President Hu Jintao stress to the National People's Congress that China will remain on the socialist path. I noticed this and then ran out of fingers long before I could tally up the number of references to a market economy in the eight-page lift-out we published on the NPC yesterday.

It seems to me, Mr Hu, that your colleagues are doing their level best to walk that socialist path in reverse, although I am not sure that they themselves really know where it is leading them now.

Take, for instance, Premier Wen Jiabao's preferred route of proactive fiscal spending, which he linked, among other things, to bringing down unemployment.

Proactive fiscal spending already produced a fiscal deficit last year of more than 300 billion yuan (about HK$281.64 billion), the equivalent of more than 3 per cent of gross domestic product, and this is right on the borderline of what the World Bank considers danger territory.

You may argue of course that deficit spending of this kind may be justified as a stimulus to an economy which has gone into recession. True, but a government that claims 8 per cent economic growth hardly has this justification to hand.

And unemployment is hardly the most pressing problem the mainland faces. As the chart shows, the unemployment rate has risen in recent years but this has been a phenomenon around the world recently. The mainland's unemployment rate is in any case still less than the weighted average of Asian countries and has certainly long been less than that of developed countries such as the United States.

In fact, increased fiscal spending may have an effect exactly opposite to the one intended, particularly if accompanied by a continuing increase in the fiscal deficit. The money will have to be raised through bond issues and the only possible buyers of these bonds in any size will be the banks.

This will leave the banks with even less money to finance profitable industrial enterprises and they already have too little for this purpose, what with the calls on them for infrastructure projects and the propping up of moribund state enterprises.

The result will be that businesses which could have been started or could have grown will be further starved of capital and thus unable to generate further employment.

It may be wiser to treat unemployment as a natural phenomenon in an economy undergoing rapid change. The more practicable solution to it is to let the direct sort of capital investment that creates jobs have the first call on the money rather than channelling it through the state.

And in fact a good deal of this is already happening although not quite as intended.

Our coverage of the NPC featured Guan Anping, one of Beijing's top foreign-trade lawyers, railing at the pillaging of state assets. He cited the example of a state-owned company that had gone bankrupt under state control and was then bought and made profitable again by its previous managers.

These managers may indeed have bankrupted it deliberately to take it over but what interests me, quite in contrast to what interests Mr Guan, is that he admits this company is now profitable and employing people again. I also wonder whether it had previously been quite as valuable a state asset as he claims.

Yes, it would be pillage but in the formative stages of a market economy there is never much to distinguish private from criminal enterprise and the result has been a welcome one. Make of it what you will, you moralists. I am not hugely incensed about it.

And, talking of moral strictures, I took the line three days ago that the tale of Antony and the Lexus represented a blunder by an inexperienced politician and that it was expiated by reprimand, apology and restitution. The remaining uproar, I said, should be treated purely as a media circus.

It now turns out that at a key Executive Council meeting in which the increase in car taxes was announced, our financial secretary stayed silent about his purchase of a car only weeks before while one of his colleagues declared an interest in purchasing a car. This should have jogged the memory, Mr Leung.

If it was a blunder, I can excuse you but it now begins to look like something more. I am not so sure of my previous stand any longer.

2. Guangdong doctor may have triggered pneumonia outbreak at Kowloon hotel
MARY ANN BENITEZ, SCMP 20 March 2003

The global pneumonia outbreak is believed to have originated with a sickly Guangdong doctor who stayed in a Hong Kong hotel and infected six other people, health officials said last night.

Among those infected by the doctor was a Hong Kong man, 26, who became the so-called index patient for the Prince of Wales Hospital outbreak of atypical pneumonia that is responsible for infecting most of the 150 people in hospital so far.

The doctor, 64, from Guangzhou, and a Canadian woman, 78, staying on the same floor of the Metropole Hotel in Waterloo Road, Mongkok, later died of the infection. The man died in the Kwong Wah Hospital and the woman in Toronto.

The ninth floor of the Metropole where the seven infected guests stayed was sealed off yesterday. Last night, some guests checked out hurriedly as news of the outbreak spread.

The doctor checked into the hotel on February 21 to attend a wedding reception but was taken to hospital the next day.

He began to show symptoms on February 15 while still in Guangzhou, the Director of Health, Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, said when detailing results of investigations last night.

He is believed to have spread atypical pneumonia when he sneezed and coughed in the waiting area outside the lifts on his floor.

"Not all the guests on the ninth floor were infected and not all the rooms. The only common link is the area where they waited for elevators," she said.

Asked if the Guangdong man was the index patient for the outbreak, Dr Chan said: "We believe this hypothesis is justified.

"Based on the information available to us from the hotel records and history and details of the illness . . . they could have been infected during their stay there. There is good evidence to suggest that," she said.

The other five infected guests at the hotel - three women from Singapore, one other Canadian tourist, 72, and the 26-year-old local man, who went to the hotel to visit a friend - survived.

The local man went on to become the index patient at the Prince Of Wales Hospital. The airport worker showed symptoms of the disease on February 24 but did not seek emergency treatment at the hospital until March 5, when he was admitted to ward 8A.

The Singaporean victims became ill after returning home but all are now well. About 17 other people in Singapore, including a doctor who treated them and who is now being treated in Germany after attending a New York conference, also have been affected.

The Canadian tourist is being treated at a private hospital in Hong Kong.

Of the situation at the Metropole, Dr Chan said: "Our initial investigations show there is no outbreak of disease among the hotel staff."

Staff, guests and nearby residents had no need to panic.

"We believe that the virus has already disappeared and we believe the time during which the virus can be spread is relatively short. There is no evidence that the virus is still active in this hotel," Dr Chan said.

The Metropole has provided the department with staff medical records for the past month and information that would help trace guests.

A report on the findings about the hotel infections was being forwarded to the World Health Organisation (WHO) last night.

Dr Chan said she hoped the travel advisory put out by WHO on the global threat of the atypical pneumonia would be further refined in light of the latest findings.

She said their investigations supported the belief that the virus was being spread by droplets and by close contact. Its incubation period was two to seven days.

Metropole guests who stayed on the ninth floor during the critical period from February 21 to 22 were being traced and would be notified through their governments, Dr Chan said. "We know these guests have returned home so we will inform the health authorities in various places so they can follow up," Dr Chan said.

About 80 tourists could have stayed during that time.

The Department of Health has set up a hotline - 2961 8968 - to provide health advice and concerned guests can call 2761 1711.

The department has disinfected the ninth floor and will allow it to be re-opened after another inspection.

3. Anti-desert warrior triumphs over adversity
FONG TAK-HO in Beijing, SCMP 20 March 2003

Shaanxi farmer Niu Yuqin's crusade against the desert has not only rewarded her with financial security but also a place in the country's green hall of fame.

Ms Niu, 55, is one of the country's top female environmental protection warriors. Since 1984, she has planted thousands of trees covering more than 7,300 hectares of barren sandy land.

In 1993, she won a major environmental award from the United Nations for her achievements in desertification control.

Last year, when Zhu Rongji visited Shaanxi province, the then-premier - who is a known environmentalist - sought out Ms Niu to commend her.

With her short hair and modest outfit, the deputy to the National People's Congress is proud of her humble origins and grassroots background.

"I was an illiterate as I was too poor to go to school," she says. "But in 1988, I finished primary school by attending evening school at the age of 40."

In 1983, the local government offered to pay farmers in return for planting trees on the edges of Mausu Desert on the southern Inner Mongolia Plateau.

Ms Niu and her husband signed a 700 yuan (HK$660) tree-planting contract covering 1,333 hectares of sandy land about 20 km from her hometown of Jingbian county.

Ms Niu got up everyday before dawn, lifted a 50 kg basket of saplings on to her shoulders and walked 20 km to plant the young trees. This she did for 14 years.

Sandstorms occasionally destroyed the trees she had just planted, and she would work all day to set the trees upright again.

In 1988, her husband and work partner died of cancer. Alone and devastated, she laboured on to realise her husband's dream of taming the desert.

"I told myself that the best way to mourn my deceased husband is to continue his legacy in afforestation," she says.

Ten years later, with her work gaining notice in the province, Ms Niu was invited to become the general manager and managing director of a joint venture with Northwest Electric Corporation, the largest state-run electricity firm in Shaanxi, to bid for environmental protection projects across the nation.

Last year, the venture earned about 13,000 yuan. Some may see this is paltry, but to Ms Niu, protecting the environment is more important than profits.

"The firm is now growing crops and livestock as a side business and I hope my company can help protect China from turning into a desert," says Ms Niu, who lives in Jinjisha village, which has a population of 2,900 people.

About 27 per cent of the country - or 2.63 million square km - is covered by desert. Experts say it will take generations to turn most of the sandy waste into forests and fodder fields. Ms Niu is doing her bit.

4. Cartoon
SCMP, 20 March 2003

5. Body found in plane from HK
PETER MICHAEL, SCMP 20 March 2003

Sweeping security checks were carried out at Chek Lap Kok yesterday after the body of a young stowaway was found in Tokyo in the wheel compartment of a passenger plane from Hong Kong.

A ground crew member found the Asian man, believed to be in his 20s, on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) plane, which left Hong Kong on Tuesday night.

The man's body was only found after the Japanese ground crew opened the Boeing B777's undercarriage compartment as part of maintenance carried out every 500 flying hours.

"Some parts of the body were decaying," said a spokesman for Japan's Narita International Airport police.

"We cannot identify him because he had neither a passport nor an ID card."

A Hong Kong police source said the man was heavily clothed, adding that the compartment he was found in was not visible from the ground.

A post-mortem examination is under way to determine how and when the man died.

"This will help to identify where and when he stowed away on the plane," the police source said. "But early indications are pointing to Shanghai."

The Hong Kong Airport Authority and airport police yesterday ordered a review of security procedures after they learned of the discovery.

"How, when and where he boarded the plane is still a mystery," said authority spokesman Chris Donnolley. "We have no idea how long his body may have been hidden in the compartment, but we are extremely confident that he did not get on the plane in Hong Kong."

Flight NH910 left Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon after stopping over for about one hour and 40 minutes.

The aircraft had previously made stops in Singapore and Shanghai.

On January 23, two Turkish stowaways plunged from an Air France plane as it approached Shanghai, crashing through the roof of a small house. It is understood the two were actually trying to fly to Germany but stowed away on the wrong flight out of Paris. Their bodies fell from flight AF112 when the landing gear was unlocked. ANA could not be contacted for comment last night.

After an exhaustive review, the Airport Authority moved to allay concern about airport security.

"People might be concerned there may have been a security breach," said Mr Donnolley. "We have examined our procedures and are confident security is as good as it has ever been.

"It is very difficult to get on to the airfield here, the security is just so tight."

During the stop-over in Hong Kong, the aircraft was guarded by the Aviation Security Company, he said.

Following the notification by ANA, the Airport Authority checked with all of the airline's service providers and confirmed no staff were reported missing.

"There was a recent incident where a cargo loader on an aircraft flying out of Anchorage in Alaska fell asleep while loading a plane," said Mr Donnolley.

"Apparently he woke up when the plane was half-way across the Pacific."

It is impossible for humans to fly in the undercarriage of an aircraft for long periods without risking death by exposure or suffocation from a lack of oxygen at 35,000 feet, an airliner's normal cruising altitude.

6. Officer's hair colour pulls her career back
SHIRLEY LAU, SCMP 20 March 2003

A senior police officer has been barred from promotion for two years after refusing to remove brown highlights from her hair.

The case, involving Senior Inspector Sharon Lim Shiow-hwa, which has been dragging on for more than a year, is the first of its kind under new police rules over hair colouring.

The 35-year-old policewoman is expected to appeal against the decision to the police commissioner within the next few days, her friend told the South China Morning Post. If that fails, she will appeal to the chief executive and the High Court.

Inspector Lim declined to comment on the ruling yesterday, but her friend said: "You could say her case is worse than [Financial Secretary] Antony Leung's. Leung only needed to apologise . . . but she is not allowed to be promoted, and that affects her future."

The friend was referring to the scandal surrounding Mr Leung's failure to disclose the purchase of a new car.

"She will definitely appeal in order to clear her name, although she believes the chances of success are remote."

A police spokesman declined to comment on Inspector Lim's case, but when asked whether it was an offence for ageing policemen to dye greying hair back to black, he said: "It would be okay if black is the original colour."

Inspector Lim was handed the punishment by Deputy Commissioner Gordon Fung Siu-yuen. It was based on police rules set up in January 2001 stipulating that hair should be "neat and tidily trimmed and in its natural or original colour".

Deputy Commissioner Fung took up Inspector Lim's case from a police internal inquiry, which concluded in January that the officer had committed a serious offence by refusing to restore her hair to its natural colour.

The inquiry was launched after Inspector Lim's former boss, Chief Superintendent Clarence To Chun-wai, district commander of Mongkok, ordered her to "do something about her hair" in December 2001. Inspector Lim has two weeks in which to lodge an appeal.

7. Panicked guests flee from 'virus hotel'
Louisa Yan and Mary Ann Benitez, SCMP 20 March 2003

Panicked guests hurriedly checked out of Kowloon's popular Metropole Hotel last night as it emerged that it may have been the place where the global pneumonia scare originated.

A mainland visitor who later died is believed to have set off the outbreak - which has spread around the world - by coughing and sneezing in the lift lobby of the hotel's ninth floor.

He infected six other people, including an elderly tourist from Canada, who flew home and later died, and three Singaporean tourists, who also took the infection home with them.

He also infected a Hong Kong man who went on to be the index, or original, patient at the Prince of Wales Hospital, from where the majority of Hong Kong's 145 infections spread.

Journalists swarmed to the entrance of the Metrople last night as the Department of Health announced its extraordinary findings about the source of the outbreak. The ninth floor was earlier closed down following discussions with health officials.

Flustered staff appealed to reporters in vain not to "panic guests" by asking them about the outbreak.

Within an hour of the Department of Health briefing, three mainland tourists had already checked out of the hotel wearing face masks.

One couple staying at the hotel - Hong Kong emigrants Mr and Mrs Chan, who are back home visiting relatives - said they knew nothing of the outbreak until a taxi driver told them as they returned to the hotel last night.

"We're supposed to be here until next Tuesday, but now we'll have to decided whether to stay here or move to another hotel," said Mr. Chan.

A hotel spokesman told the South China Morning Post it had received the first inquiries from the Health Department about the infections only earlier yesterday.

The department had asked for the registration records of some of the pneumonia victims who had stayed in the hotel before February 25.

"To help in locating the source of the virus, we provided the required information without delay," the spokesman said.

"The Health Department said there was no evidence of active disease currently occurring in the Metropole Hotel and none of its staff was found to be affected."

Earlier yesterday, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong announced that the number of infections in Hong Kong had risen to 145. five people have died, three more than previously thought.

8. S* A * R with Tom Hilditch
SCMP, 20 March 2003

Satire makes it to the Web

It's been a long wait, but finally a cult cartoon of Secretary for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee squashing people with a tank is available free on the Web.

The three-minute film - which premiered to some outrage at the Foreign Correspondents' Club earlier this year - was created by four of Hong Kong's top political cartoonists, including Zunzi and Kee Yung, as part of the ongoing protests against proposed security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law.

See it on www.paris-hongkong.com/articles/20021216knowyourrights/index.htm

The Naked Wu

After the publicity generated by her stage performance in Glengarry Glen Ross, her car crash and Ecstasy arrest, actress Anya Wu is at it again. Now she plans to publish a raunchy photobook.

''It's going to shock some people,'' Wu (left) told SAR from Taiwan yesterday. ''But I hope to win over more fans than I lose.''

Not so long ago, stripping for the camera was a fast route to obscurity, but the success of the likes of Christy Chung Lai-tai and Shu Qi has convinced Wu that it's a risk worth taking.

''I am ready to take my clothes off,'' said the New York-raised actress. ''But it has to be right. I am not interested in doing something crude. I want to capture my ideas about sexuality; a mix of the raw Taiwanese style and more sophisticated Western style.''

Shooting will start soon and take her to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The book - as yet untitled - is expected to appear in the summer.

Send all information, invitations and tips to us at: SAR@scmp.com; fax: 2562 2485; telephone: 2565 2222

9. Warning sounded on hotel boom
SOPHIA WONG, SCMP 20 March 2003

Relaxed planning controls on hotel developments could result in an oversupply of rooms as more developers enter the sector for high returns, analysts say.

The warning comes as developers increase the number of hotel projects.

In the past year alone, the Town Planning Board approved 21 hotel developments involving the conversion of land usage. A total of 14,535 hotel rooms could be built if all the developments proceed as planned.

The line-up could double the supply of new hotel rooms in the next few years, analysts said.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board announced that 24 new hotels were expected to be built by 2006, with a total of 13,354 rooms. This largely excludes the long line-up of projected developments.

Hong Kong has 97 completed hotels with a total of 38,919 rooms.

The average occupancy was 82 per cent early this year. Medium-tariff hotels were 85 per cent occupied, while those at the high-tariff end were lower at 79 per cent.

Hotel developments are traditionally restricted to commercial sites, but in recent years controls have been relaxed to allow construction in areas previously reserved for industrial use.

In the past year, some under-utilised industrial districts in Hong Kong, Kowloon and Tsuen Wan have been rezoned for business use to facilitate hotel development.

Tony Tse Wai-chuen, senior vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, said developers were finding it easier now to secure approval for hotel development plans, especially on land within business zones where technical solutions could be found for any environmental problems.

"Oversupply of lower-tariff hotels could occur in traditionally industrial areas with less accessibility," Mr Tse said.

"The demand may not be very keen because there are no tourist attractions."

Eddie Leung Yu-cheung, project manager at Far East Consortium International, predicted a potential oversupply of hotels as a result of blind applications from developers. He called for a government mechanism to scrutinise approval for hotel applications and to monitor future hotel supply in all districts.

Simon Clennell, spokesman for the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said there was undersupply of medium-tariff hotels at present, but the new room supply seemed adequate to meet the demand in the next three to four years. The tourism board had yet to estimate future hotel demand, he added.

Alva To, research director at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, said hotel development and operations were returning the best profits among property investments.

"The prospects are bright," Mr To said.

"The government is spending a lot to boost tourism. The demand for three- to four-star hotels will be strong. I believe the majority of tourists visiting Hong Kong in the coming years will be mainlanders or Taiwanese who will not want to spend a lot on accommodation."

Mr Leung of Far East Consortium said his company would expand its hotel portfolio in the coming years to tap growing demand from mainland and Southeast Asian cities.

10. Developers in dash to enter fray
SOPHIA WONG, SCMP 20 March 2003

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) and Cheung Kong (Holdings) are leading the charge by developers to build hotels amid continued weakness in the office and residential markets.

SHKP recently secured planning approval to convert two industrial sites in Kwun Tong and Cheung Sha Wan into hotels with up to 1,330 rooms.

The group is going ahead with two more hotel plans on industrial land in Wong Chuk Hang and Sha Tin, involving 1,200 rooms.

Victor Lui Ting, executive director of SHKP subsidiary Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency, said the group was optimistic about future hotel demand in urban areas and the redevelopment plan aimed to restructure the group's investment mix.

He added the redevelopments were in the initial planning stages. Details had yet to be finalised subject to lease modifications and land premium charges.

SHKP also has plans to build top-grade hotel rooms in its Kowloon Station mixed development.

Cheung Kong, which bought the 690-room Harbour Plaza Metropolis last year, is developing two large hotels on two Hunghom waterfront commercial sites to provide a total of 3,080 rooms.

It also has a joint venture with Hutchison Whampoa to build an 800-room hotel in Tsing Yi.

Wharf (Holdings) has won planning approval to develop a 1,400-room three-star hotel on an industrial site in Tsuen Wan by 2007.

Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum's privately held Chinachem Group is undertaking six hotel developments, including one at Nina Tower in Tsuen Wan and redevelopments on industrial sites in Wong Chuk Hang, Kwun Tong and Kwai Chung.

Winsor Properties last month received the go-ahead to turn its former factory site in Kwun Tong into a mixed commercial project that includes 440 hotel rooms.

11. Construction company fined $12,000 for mosquito breeding violation
Hong Kong Government, 20 March 2003

A construction company was fined $12,000 yesterday (March 19) by a North Kowloon Magistrate after mosquitoes were found breeding on a building site.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) prosecuted Heng Tat Construction Company Limited after a routine inspection found mosquitoes breeding on a site under its management at the junction of 201 Tai Kok Tsui Road and Fuk Lee Street, Kowloon, on October 7 last year.

Under Section 27(3) of Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, an appointed contractor of a construction site shall be guilty of an offence if larvae or pupae of mosquitoes are found in any accumulation of water on the site. The maximum fine under this law is $25,000, with a daily fine of $450.

A spokesman for FEHD said that inspections of construction sites would continue and prosecutions for violations of the mosquito breeding ordinance would be taken without prior warning.

He called on the public to report mosquito problems through the department's hotline at 2868 0000.

12. Twenty building plans approved in January
Hong Kong Government, 20 March 2003

The Buildings Department approved 20 building plans in January -- three on Hong Kong Island, five in Kowloon and 12 in the New Territories.

Of the approved plans, six were for apartment and apartment/commercial developments, one was for commercial development, four were for factory and industrial developments and nine were for community services developments.

In the same month, consent was given for work to start on 14 building projects that, on completion, will provide 19,130 square metres of usable domestic floor area and 20,897 square metres of usable non-domestic floor area.

The department also issued 18 occupation permits -- eight on Hong Kong Island, two in Kowloon and eight in the New Territories.

Of the buildings certified for occupation, the usable floor areas for domestic and non-domestic uses were 102,700 square metres and 47,677 square metres respectively.

The declared cost of the new buildings completed in January totalled about $4.938 billion.

In addition, eight demolition consents involving eight building structures were issued.

The department received 2,441 complaints against unauthorised building works in January, and issued 7,499 removal orders on unauthorised works.

13. LCQ2 : Reclamation project affects significantly WIL Phase 2
Hong Kong Government, 19 March 2003

Following is a question by the Hon Ip Kwok-him and a reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, in the Legislative Council meeting today (March 19) :

Question:

The Government decided in January this year that the planning work for the MTR West Hong Kong Island Line (WIL) Phase 2 (from Belcher Garden to Kennedy Town) be held in abeyance until the way forward for the Western District Development (WDD) reclamation was clear. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) when it intends to announce the latest arrangements in respect of the WDD reclamation project; and

(b) of the factors, apart from the reclamation project, it will consider in deciding whether or not to implement the WIL Phase 2 project?

Reply:

Madam President,

One of the objectives of the Western District Development reclamation project is to provide residential land to meet the long-term housing demand of Hong Kong. According to the 2001 census, the growth of Hong Kong's population in the long term is slower than that previously anticipated, leading to a corresponding decrease in the long-term housing demand. The Government is therefore re-assessing the housing demand of Hong Kong in the long term. Based on the assessment results, we shall review the need and the development timetable of individual New Development Areas or reclamation projects under planning. As far as reclamation projects are concerned, our policy is that minimum reclamation will be carried out only when it is necessary. During the review, we shall take into account the public's wish to minimize reclamation and the cost-effectiveness of individual projects. We envisage that the preliminary assessment could be completed by the middle of this year, when we will decide and announce whether the proposed reclamation projects in Western District, Sham Tseng and Tsuen Wan will be shelved or postponed.

The proposed Western District Development (WDD) would be the most significant factor affecting the viability and design of the West Hong Kong Island Line (WIL) Phase 2 from Belcher Station to Kennedy Town Station, costing about $6 billion including reclamation cost. The reason is because the scale of the WDD would impact on the catchment population of WIL Phase 2 as well as the location of the proposed Kennedy Town Station.

14. LCQ8: Protection of private historical buildings
Hong Kong Government, 19 March 2003

Following is a question by the Hon Wong Sing-chi and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr Patrick Ho, in the Legislative Council today (March 19):

Question:

It has been reported that, as revealed by the Antiquities and Monuments Office's survey, there are 9 000 to 10 000 pre-war buildings in Hong Kong, of which about 200 to 300 are private properties with conservation value. Although some of these buildings have been rated as Grade I, Grade II or Grade III buildings respectively under the existing grading system for protection of important monuments and buildings of historical significance, their owners have the right to demolish them as they are not declared monuments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the criteria for classifying an individual building or a site as a Grade I, Grade II or Grade III building or site, or designating it as a declared monument;

(b) of the descriptions of the existing private properties with conservation value in Hong Kong, their locations, their owners, the reasons for regarding the properties as having conservation value, and the means of preservation; whether the titles to these properties have been sold; if so, of the details; and

(c) whether it has discussed with the owners of these private properties the possibility of donating them to the Government with a view to preserving the buildings concerned; if it has, of the details and progress of the discussions; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

Madam President,

Generally speaking, under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap 53, Laws of Hong Kong), the Authority may declare any building or place, which he considers to be of public interest by reason of its historical significance, to be a monument by notice in the Gazette after consulting the Antiquities Advisory Board and with the approval of the Chief Executive. Buildings or places that are declared as monuments under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance are protected by that ordinance upon declaration and there is no grading among monuments.

The Antiquities Advisory Board has also graded some historical buildings which have not been declared as Grade I to Grade III buildings based on criteria such as the age and architectural features and their association with local historical events and figures. This grading system is adopted purely for internal reference and does not have any legal effect.

At present, there are altogether 30 private properties that are declared as monuments in Hong Kong and protected by the law (see Annex (pdf format) for details). Moreover, according to a survey completed by the Antiquities and Monuments Office earlier on, there are about 9 500 pre-1950 buildings in Hong Kong. Having made an initial assessment and considered the resources required, we are of the view that systematic preservation of around 200 to 300 of these historical buildings should help reflect Hong Kong's history and development in different periods. We have yet to conduct a detailed study and assessment of the historical and architectural significance of each building before a list can be compiled.

Since at the present stage we are still considering which of the private historical buildings have genuine preservation value, we have not made contact with the owners concerned to discuss the possibility of donating their properties as items of historical interest. Nevertheless, if and when in the course of our daily work we have come across a particular private historical building which is considered to be worthy of preservation, we will do our best to persuade its owner to agree to the declaration of his property as a monument for preservation. If necessary, the Antiquities and Monuments Office will provide professional advice to help owners preserve or maintain the historical buildings.