Legco members and doctors support harbour protection.		Winston from Society for Protrection of the Harbour explain the reclamation plan to Audrey Eu.
Representatives of harbour protection group explain to the public the bad impact of reclamation.		A number of boars from a team to support protecting our harbour.
A boat with banner particpitate in the boat parade.		The reclamation area near Central.

Society for Protection of the Harbour

“Love our Harbour, No More Reclamation”

Boat Parade

Subsequent to the public outcry over Central Reclamation III, the Government has stubbornly ignored public sentiments and continues to use easing traffic congestion as the excuse to reclaim the Central-Wanchai harbourfront. The Government has long ignored the fact that ‘Zero-reclamation’ options are available and it is possible to build the Central-Wanchai Bypass without reclamation. This has caused the public to suspect that the real intention of the Government is to create additional land. The public cannot trust the Government’s promise that the reclaimed land will not be sold for “commercial” use as what had happened in West Kowloon is a constant reminder. Furthermore, the Court of Final Appeal judgment provides that the prime responsibility of government officials is to preserve the harbour for our future generation and not to find excuses to encroach upon it again and again.

T he Society for Protection of the Harbour (SPH) is concerned about the attitude of the next Chief Executive towards the protection of the harbour as well as its ecology. SPH will request a meeting with the Acting Chief Executive should Tung Chee-hwa resign. SPH urges the Government to shelve all reclamation plans, in particular, the Wanchai reclamation. They also urge the next Chief Executive to put the protection of the harbour and its ecology at the forefront of his/her political agenda. With almost half of Victoria Harbour reclaimed, ‘Zero-reclamation’ development option should always be the first option. Since the Government says it is willing to take this stance for South East Kowloon, SPH urges the next Chief Executive to adopt the same stance for Wanchai.

The SPH and other harbour protection activists launched the “Love Our Harbour, No More Reclamation” campaign, which featured a boat parade in Victoria Harbour today (Sunday). Supporting parties included Ms Christine Loh and Mr Winston Chu, the Chairperson and advisor of SPH respectively. Legislators Audrey Eu, and Ka-ki Kwok joined the Campaign too. Ms Annelise Connell, Vice-chairman of Save Our Shorelines (SOS) was also present to explain the ‘Zero -reclamation’ option for Central. Mr Winston Chu displayed the plan of the ‘Zero-reclamation’ option for Wanchai which was submitted to the government by the Swire Group.

In a collective expression of opposition, SPH and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club held a boat parade protest in the harbour – with a flotilla of boats sailing in Victoria Harbour with banners protesting against the Government’s reclamation projects.

The media and the public were given a true perspective on the detrimental effects of the reclamation project on the SPH harbour tour, which inspected the proposed Wanchai reclamation site and CRIII. SPH advisor, Winston Chu, expressed his grave concern:”We can see how extensive the proposed reclamation areas are. Our Victoria Harbour originally had an area of 7,000 hectares. Now almost half of it is gone. There should be no more reclamation”.

Mr. Chu showed the supporting letters from Toronto to media: ”Even people overseas are expressing their deep concern. We receive overwhelming supports from all over the world, like the Chinese communities of Toronto, San Francisco and London. SPH is planning to launch a worldwide campaign to pull together all the support from overseas.”

SPH Chairman Christine Loh adds: “ Victoria Harbour is a precious national asset and we must preserve it for future generations. I believe an insightful and visionary Chief Executive would support our stance and work with us to protect the harbour. SPH will ask candidates for the post of Chief Executive to state their position on reclamation and ask that they shelve all proposed reclamation work in the harbour and reassess ‘Zero-reclamation’ development options.”

Christine Loh also criticises the Government’s refusal to assess the feasibility of the ‘Zero-reclamation’ option. She said: “The Government’s unyielding stance to rule out such possibilities is simply a repetition of their mishandling of the West Kowloon Cultural District project.” SPH will collaborate with Legco members to raise questions on the reclamation projects, especially the Wanchai Reclamation Plan as this is urgent. Members are planning to request an independent study on the technical feasibility of a ‘Zero-reclamation’ option for Wanchai, and will demand to scrutinize the terms of reference and progress.

Annelise Connell, the Vice Chairman of SOS, disputes the Government’s counter argument that “Zero-reclamation” for Central is unworkable: “The tunnel option requires only limited reclamation of up to five hectares, which is less than 70% of what would be required if the Central-Wanchai Bypass proceeds. Furthermore, the tunnel option would save HK$2.5 billion to HK$3.5 billion in construction costs.”

SPH questions the Government’s claim of “traffic congestion” as a reason to fulfil the “overriding public need” requirement to justify the construction of the bypass, and thus reclamation. Christine Loh stresses that advanced cities no longer encourage building of new roads as the main congestion solution. The Government should follow the international trend and adopt an environmentally and sustainable transportation development policy.”