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Legislator Tony Tse

2019-04-07
Dear People of Hong Kong,

My young friends often talked to me and expressed anxiety about their future, both in their careers and the living conditions of themselves and their families.

I recall that I had discussed with the young men and young ladies of Hong Kong in November last year generally about the Government’s proposal of “Lantau Tomorrow” as one of the options of new land supply. Clearly this option is unlikely to be a solution for overcoming the immediate land and housing shortage problems. To address the issues, I have from time to time urged the Government to take a multi-pronged and pragmatic approach by providing for short term solutions, including the building of more transitional housing, BUT we should also plan further ahead at the same time.

Since the scale and time span of strategic planning proposals are enormous, there will be a long lead time before population intake can take place. Here Government is talking about, Lantau Tomorrow, a development area of more than 1000 hectares and accommodation for up to 400,000 housing units by reclamation.

Nevertheless, as Pope John Paul II said, “The future starts today, not tomorrow.”, I would urge the Government to carry out the necessary feasibility studies as soon as possible now.

Colleagues in the professional fields have some mixed feelings when they came to notice that Government is going to seek LegCo’s approval for funding to carry out the feasibility studies. Whereas the initiative is welcomed, they were keen to make sure that such studies are carried out thoroughly and properly.

We see opportunities as well as constraints and challenges ahead. We hope and urge that the new development areas would be sustainable, green and resilient, well connected, walkable and inclusive for population of different ages. Also, as Government envisages, it should aptly function as a double-gateway facing both Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

Despite the imminent need for housing land in the Territory, in the Lantau Tomorrow development an appropriate balance should be aimed at between private and public housing, as well as provision of matching job opportunities, by taking into consideration the future demographic structure. There should also be adequate community and welfare facilities upon population intake. The relevant policy support, well-coordinated programming of implementation and timely injection of resources are thus a requisite. Apart from the Government’s parts of the development, the success of implementation would also need the participation of the private sector and the strong and continued support of the community, both at the envisioning stage upfront as well as throughout the implementation. Thus, public engagement is a vitally important key to its success. The voices of young professionals would also have a justifiable place in the process.

In general, the entirely new area is envisaged to be able to attain better quality of design and a higher spatial standard than those of present business areas. The future “CBD-3” should be more walkable, with less or no air pollutions compared to the congestions in today’s Central District. Nevertheless, a strong theme and far-sighted vision is called for, to create a people-centred, quality environment and this should be set out clearly in the study visions and objectives, and to be embodied in an overall urban design framework.

Also, as the implementation would take many years, the development strategy needs to build-in suitable flexibility to cope with future changes and advancement of new technology. This could possibly spread out the risks and alleviate the community’s anxiety to gain their confidence and support.

We are mindful that the subject area has a strong maritime character with high landscape value and suggest that a balance should be struck between conservation of the coastal features and the future development, since the impacts of development may be irreversible. A thorough ecological survey of the flora and fauna is therefore highly demanded. We would not rule out alternative land formation methods other than reclamation applied to some phases of development if it could shorten the period of impacts to the existing sea bed and marine life. We also consider that waterfronts should be made easily accessible, as part of a quality public space network.

I believe that the young people are interested in and probably better geared towards the application of new technologies generally. There should be a lot of opportunities within the developments envisaged in the Lantau Tomorrow vision. Concepts such as carbon neutral, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, car sharing, spatial co-sharing, etc. are likely features. Smart city elements such as SDI, BIM, GIS and the use of MIC and 3D printing methods may also need the contributions from the younger generation in the years to come.

Despite the above cautions and challenges, Lantau Tomorrow is seen to be an opportunity to overcome the current spatial constraints and problems of congestions in the degrading urban environment. As the development may bring about adverse impacts to the natural environment, a thorough study is required and the implementation must provide for a balance between conservation and development. I would also encourage Government to break down current departmental barriers where necessary and embrace new technologies as well as innovations that may emerge through proactively engaging the public and the professional sector. I hope that People of Hong Kong would take greater interest to get to understand more about this subject and that we would see the vision coming to fruition together.

Yours faithfully, v Tony

Letter To Hong Kong

                                                               
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