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1. Guangdong's history as a breeding ground for pandemics is well documented, writes Chris Taylor

2. Underwater tunnel plan proposed to link two provinces

3. No place for superjail

4. Jail critics say they have been snubbed

1. Guangdong's history as a breeding ground for pandemics is well documented, writes Chris Taylor
Sunday Morning Post, 11 May 2003

The close proximity of birds, pigs and humans for centuries in southern China has been identified by international health experts as key to devastating outbreaks throughout history.

2. Underwater tunnel plan proposed to link two provinces
Verna Yu, Sunday Morning Post 11 May 2003

An ambitious plan to build the world's longest underwater tunnel, linking the northeastern coastal provinces of Shandong and Liaoning, has been proposed by a leading engineer, it was reported yesterday.

He Yishou, and undersea tunneling expert, said his proposed project would dramatically change the relationship between northeastern China and the rest of the country, particularly in transport and communications, as well as its links with other countries, the Qingdao News Web site reported.

The 67-year-old professor said building a tunnel across the mouth of Bohai Bay - a distance of 147km - would be more technically demanding than the Three Gorges Dam, but would cost less.

The professor has spent 10 years researching his idea without any public or private assistance.

A railway ferry project, linking the coastal city of Dalian in the south of the Liaodong peninsula and Yantai city in the north of Shandong province, is already in the pipeline.

The Yellow River runs into Bohai Bay, indenting the coast of northeastern China. It is bordered by Shandong, Hebei and Liaoning provinces, and the Tianjin municipality.

According to the People's Daily, China's largest offshore oilfield, with proven reserves of 600 million tones, was discovered in the Bohai Sea in 2000. It is the second largest oilfield after the Daqing oilfield.

Last October, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China's third-largest oil company, agreed with Texaco China to jointly develop and oilfield in Bohai Bay with oil and gas reserves estimated at 210 million cubic metres, according the People's Daily. The world's longest undersea tunnel is the 54km Sei-kai tunnel in Japan.

3. No place for superjail
Letter to the Editor, Sunday Morning Post 11 May 2003

I refer to the letter of J. Charleston, headlined "Not in my backyard" (South China Morning Post, May 6), about the people of Lantau not wanting the so-called superjail in their backyard. I agree that Lantau residents are using all sorts of excuses to get the prison built somewhere else.

They should come clean and admit that they don't want it there because they love their backyard. Along with other Lantau residents, I love living in a bit of Hong Kong that doesn't look like Causeway Bay.

The bay in Mui Wo that would have an access road carved into it is visited by hundreds of hikers, mountain bikers and bathers every weekend.

The access bridge would cut right through the middle of Discovery Bay, Mui Wo, Peng Chau and Cheung Chau. It would stick out like a sore thumb for day-trippers and residents alike on the whole outlying islands.

If we could hide the prison away on a part of Lantau very few people go to, such as the Shek Pik reservoir, then Lantau people wouldn't be so concerned.

The government needs to decide on a green belt for Hong Kong's children to enjoy, and take steps to protect it for future generations.

Sandy Hendry, Mui Wo

4. Jail critics say they have been snubbed
Sara Bradford, SCMP 11 May 2003

Members of a community group opposed to the building of a $12 billion "superjail" on Hei Ling Chau were left angry and frustrated yesterday after taking legislators and government officials on a ferry tour of the proposed site.

They had been hoping to convince the officials that the project would be environmentally and aesthetically damaging to the island. But after the two-hour tour, several members of the group - Living Islands Movement - complained that they had been fobbed off by the officials.

As Deputy Secretary of Security Jennie Chok Pang Yuen-yee disembarked from the ferry chartered by the group, one member expressed his disappointment that she was unable to answer their concerns over the proposed jail, off Lantau Island.

"You are very rude," the man, who would not give his name, told her. However, Ms Chok later said all the opponents' comments had been noted.

She was then whisked away but later released a press release stating that the proposed prison project would not go ahead until a feasibility study had been fully investigated. Residents Klaus Kruger and Cathy Tsang-Feign said they felt official could not answer any of their concerns during the field trip, including a perceived lack of transparency behind the whole process.

"It was like they were reading off a piece of paper where everything [the responses to their concerns] was written down for them," Mr Kruger said.

Group spokesman Tom Masterson said the outing had a time limit of two hours and not all opponents were able to have their opinions heard. But he said both sides were willing to sit down in a more structured setting soon. He said he believed officials were receptive to their concerns. Mr Masterson said the government had yet to prove the need for the new prison. He believed the area should instead be developed into a tourist drawcard.

A study by University of Hong Kong's department of ecology and biodiversity recently identified Hei Ling Chau as one of about 70 ecological "hot spots". Adrienne Ng, who runs children's camps at the site for the Treasure Island organisation, said the jail's presence would be felt through all sectors of the community and restrict the exposure of city children to Hong Kong's outdoor environment.

The Planned prison would house 7,000 prisoners and lead to the closure of eight existing jails.