Hong Kong's Harbor Threatened by Land Reclamation
Date: 02-Oct-03
Country: HONG KONG
Author: Katie Hunt
But the "fragrant harbour" from which the city takes its name and to which it owes its fortune is in danger of disappearing.
Decades of land reclamation to keep pace with breakneck development in the former British territory have whittled the harbour down to nearly half its size in the days when tea and opium merchants plied their trade on wooden sailing ships.
And the Hong Kong government plans as much as 636 hectares more of reclamation, activists say. The harbour has already been reduced by 3,200 hectares, or nearly 3,900 soccer pitches.
"It is at the moment already half of what it was originally. More reclamation will reduce it to one-quarter," said Winston Chu, chairman of the Society for the Protection of the Harbour, which has gone to court to stop new landfill. "And it will become between 800 m and 1,000 m wide, which is narrower than many, many rivers in the world," he added.
A court ruling is due Friday on an injunction to stop work on a 23-hectare reclamation project in the Central financial district before a final judgment is handed down.
STAR FERRY THREATENED?
Chu and other conservationists fear the harbour, long renowned for its depth and width, will turn into a river and endanger one of Hong Kong's most enduring icons - the century-old green and white Star Ferry that shuttles tourists and commuters across the scenic stretch of water.
Hong Kong's harbour plays a key role in the territory's history, from its roots as a fishing village and its days trading tea and opium in the heyday of the British empire to its modern role as one of the world's best ports and tourist attractions.
Bowing to public pressure, the government has suspended work on its latest harbour infill project until the hearing on the injunction, at a cost of about HK$1 million Hong Kong dollars ($129,000) a day in compensation to idled contractors.
Around 500 protesters gathered near the Star Ferry Pier in Central chanting, "Protect the harbour. Stop reclamation," last weekend and Chu said he expected a quarter of a million to take to the streets if the ruling favors the government.
"I think we have the support of 99 percent of the Hong Kong people," said Chu, who has vowed to jump into the harbor's polluted waters rather than back down.
Chu's group has raised HK$2.2 million, half of it the maverick lawyer's own money, for its legal battle against the government which may not end until late this year when a judicial review of the legality of the landfill plan is expected.
TRAFFIC
To ease traffic congestion, the government wants to use the refilled land for a road from Central to the former red-light district of Wanchai, the backdrop to the 1960 film "The World of Suzie Wong," as well as for commercial and recreational aims.
The government scaled back the original reclamation area from 32 hectares after public consultations but the harbour front will edge northward and Star Ferry piers will have to be moved.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with land reclamation per se but they should create a park to stroll, with places to sit out and have a drink," said Australian tourist Christy Pritchard while taking photos from the "Twinkle" Star Ferry.
Despite an impressive skyline, the waterfront on Hong Kong Island is concrete pavement, interspersed with buildings and major roads.
Michael Suen, Hong Kong Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, has told reporters the government will abide by any court ruling and will stop reclaiming land from the sea on a large scale after the Central project.
But further land reclamation in the harbour is reckless, Chu says. "You would never suggest to the people of Sydney to fill in their harbour. It would take a mad man to do that," he said.