The Government owes Hong Kong people an opportunity to comment on its plans and building design for the Central Government Offices on the Tamar Site before seeking funding from the Legislative Council (“Legco”). This is necessary so that the public can decide whether the adverse impact on the environment is acceptable, in particular, with regard to increased traffic, worsening air pollution and rendering the harbour inaccessible.
The Government is taking away from the public the last large piece of land in the Central Harbourfront as well as $5.2 billion of public funds. The Government should not ask Legco to approve the funding even before showing the public the Tamar plans and building design and before addressing the environmental concerns of the public.
Members of Legco as guardians of public interests should respect this public right and should not approve the funding with undue haste. They should protect public interests and stand up for the public whom they represent and should be serving. They should not allow the Government to rush the Tamar project through Legco without proper public consultation particularly when the Government is proposing to use valuable public assets for its own self-interests.
For such an important matter, any other government in the world would have properly consulted its citizens before a decision is made and funding applied for. Therefore, the people of Hong Kong and our community leaders should demand from the Government and our representatives in Legco a fair opportunity for the community to see how the money belonging to the community will be spent.
The environmental concerns are serious. The Government is proposing to use Tamar and five other sites along the Central Harbourfront totalling more than one million sq. ft. of land for office and commercial development. These will produce nine million sq. ft. of gross floor area, equivalent to four blocks of IFC 2.
These developments will attract more than 50,000 workers and people to Central and, according to the figures published by the Transport Department, will attract 7,623 more vehicles per hour to Central. These additional vehicles will aggravate the traffic congestion and the already unacceptable air pollution in Central.
The additional traffic will necessitate a new surface road (called “P2”) which will run parallel to Harcourt Road on the new Central Reclamation and will make the Central Harbourfront inaccessible.
The above contradicts the Government’s avowed justification for the Central Reclamation Phase III: which was supposed to be only for the purpose of building the underground Central Wanchai By-pass to relieve traffic congestion.
The Government should first secure public support of the Tamar project through the strength of its reasoning and satisfying the public on the above environmental concerns before it applies to Legco for funding.
The Government has stated that Tamar is a community project. If so, then the Government should give the public every opportunity to comment on the project and to demonstrate their support. The Government should have no fear of the result of any public consultation if the Tamar project does in fact have public support as the Government claims.
To have a bright future, it is necessary for Hong Kong to have:-
1. An enlightened government which makes good decisions for the public interest but not for self-interest and which gains support through the quality of its decisions rather than through the exercise of power;
2. Community and business leaders who are not afraid to speak up for the public interest over their own self-interest;
3. A truly free press which will not bend under pressure but will objectively bring public issues to the attention of the community without fear or favour; and
4. A public that is committed to public affairs.
Ultimately the success of a society depends upon the quality of its leaders and its people. Therefore this is the time for our Hong Kong community to demonstrate that we have the ability to govern ourselves properly and that our Government officials and our community and business leaders have the wisdom and integrity necessary to lead Hong Kong towards a bright future.