1 Planning appointments attacked as cosmetic
Ng Kang-chung, SCMP 29 March 2008

Six new faces have been appointed to the Town Planning Board, which reviews town plans and zoning policies for the development of the city. A critic of planning policy called the changes a "cosmetic reshuffle".

The new members will start their two-year terms next month. Six official and 25 non-official members were reappointed. Some of the six incumbents being replaced have served the board for up to eight years.

The new board members are Edwin Chan Hon-wan of Polytechnic University; Rock Chen Chung-nin of Pacific Falcon Investment Group; Ellen Lau Yuet-yung of jewellery manufacturer Charles and Colvard; solicitor Maurice Lee Wai-man; Timothy Ma Kam-wah, a social welfare advocate; and Winnie Tang Shuk-ming of ESRI China, an information technology firm. All board members, including the chairman, are appointed by the chief executive.

The reshuffle was quickly criticised as too insignificant to make any difference.

Observers wanted elected public representatives to have a bigger say. Albert Lai Kwong-tak, of the pro-democracy think-tank Professional Commons, said: "It seems it is cosmetic change only. We want structural change that would allow elected representatives from various groups and members of the public to be represented on the board.

"The present system allows the government to take direct control over the board."

Ng Mee-kam, an urban planning expert at the University of Hong Kong, said real change in the body could not be expected without amending the law.

One of the outgoing members, Michael Lai Kam-cheung, of the social service group St James' Settlement, said: "The board has opened up a lot more than before. Now our meetings are open to the public.

"It is important to strike a balance. If we just keep imposing tight limits on building height, a project may not be financially viable."

Some new members declined to comment and Professor Chan said it was too early to say how he could contribute to the board. Another new member, Dr Tang, who is also an appointed member of Kwai Tsing district council, said her area of interest would be metro planning.

"Transport planning in the metro area is always challenging in striving to find a balance between economic and environmental impact, which is also my focus," said Dr Tang.

Besides Mr Lai, the other outgoing members are engineer Peter Wong King-keung; Lily Chiang Lai-lei, the high-profile businesswoman presently involved in an Independent Commission Against Corruption case; Peter Hills of the University of Hong Kong; and Nora Tam Fung-yee of City University.