1 Democrats want hub funding broken up for better oversight
Scarlett Chiang, The Standard 15 September 2007

The Democratic Party has proposed that funding for the HK$19 billion needed for the West Kowloon cultural district be divided into phases to enable lawmakers to better monitor the project.

The party said that it would be difficult for the project to be monitored if funding is approved on a lump-sum basis.

"Work on some of the facilities for the cultural hub will only start in late 2010, and there's no need for the Legislative Council to approve a lump sum for the entire project right now," party spokesman for planning Lee Wing-tat said on Friday.

He said the HK$19 billion should be split into at least three parts and the government should apply for funding when needed.

Another party legislator, James To Kun-sun, said that approval of funding for the Urban Renewal Authority - about HK$10 billion in total - was given on five separate occasions, depending on the projects.

Lee also criticized the size of the proposed flagship M+ museum, which will be one of the main cultural facilities, saying it is too big for visitors.

He warned that the museum, which will occupy 78,850 square meters, could account for 80 percent of the project's running deficit every year.

"Such a museum is too big for visitors. If its use turns out to be low, it would probably be a white elephant," he said.

Commenting on Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen's remarks that the independent West Kowloon Authority will be run like the Airport Authority, Lee said the two bodies were quite different and the cultural authority should not be run like a business.

2 Board hails move, seeks end to 'heritage crimes'
Una So, SCMP 15 September 2007

Although the sledgehammers at King Yin Lei on Stubbs Road have been silenced with the historic mansion being declared a provisional monument, heritage conservationists have called for a long-term program to prevent similar "heritage crimes" from being repeated.

"Whoever ordered the demolition and dismantling [of King Yin Lei] has committed a heritage crime," Antiquities Advisory Board member Bernard Lim Wan-fung said on Friday at an ad- hoc meeting of the board, which unanimously gave support to declaring the mansion a provisional monument.

He also praised Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's speedy decision to halt the demolition as a "ground-breaking" move.

Lim said Lam's attendance at the meeting had shown the government's new determination to protect heritage.

But more such buildings may soon be wrecked by landowners. Lim and other conservationists demanded that the current heritage conservation policy be overhauled before it is too late.

Former board member Chan Wai- kwan said the incident shows the heritage protection system is not working and needs to be revamped urgently.

He said the board had looked into King Yin Lei's case in 2004 and recommended that the mansion be preserved. But the Antiquities and Monuments Office said it could not access the site and the building remained ungraded.

Conservancy Association chairwoman Betty Ho Siu-fong called for a holistic heritage preservation policy.

She said the speedy decision taken on King Yin Lei shows the government has the ability to save heritage, but lacked commitment and efficiency in the past. "I hope Lam will continue to work for a heritage policy review due at the end of the year and take a more proactive approach," Ho said.

Heritage Watch spokesman Jeffrey Au Tsan-nien said he hoped the year- end heritage policy review will not only allocate more funding for the purpose, but will also grant the board the power to grade historic buildings and declare monuments.

The 70-year old King Yin Lei has special meaning for another board member, lawmaker Bernard Chan Charnwut, who grew up in the neighborhood. "I used to pass by the mansion all the time. It would remind me of black and white Chinese martial arts movies. It means a lot to me," he said.

Chan said the former owner of the site, Stephen Yow Mok-shing, had signed an agreement selling the site to ICE Wisdom, but the new owner will not take possession of the land until Thursday.