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Background
to the Harbour Campaign The Pearl of the Orient, also known as Hong Kong with its world-class waterfront that every Hong Kong people is proud of, however, the Harbour is evolving ever so quickly with super high-rise building on the two sides of the Harbour, the substantial narrowing of the width between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and the declining in Harbour water quality. So, who has the responsibility in protecting our Victoria Harbour - the government or us the public? When the Government could not ensure the protection of the harbour, the only recipe is for the public to take up a more responsive action, making Hong Kong once again a true "Pearl of the Orient" to shine anew in the new millennium. In 1996, through the Society for Protection of the Harbour, we received 170,000 signatures from supporters and the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance was also passed in 1997 endorsing the principles of protecting the Harbour. In 2003, the court ruled against the Town Planning Board on the Wanchai Reclamation Phase II project as they failed to demonstrate and comply with section 3 of the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance. Therefore, is the law sufficient to protect the Harbour? So far, the Government's unwillingness to do so to date raises questions about its commitment to due process and the rule of law, therefore, the public must take a more active role in protecting our harbour. The Government did not demonstrate good practice public consultation of the Victoria Harbour Reclamation "Outline Zoning Plan. Therefore, one of the reasons for establishing "Friends of the Harbour" is to provide truth and accurate information to the public that allows them to have a clearer understanding and the importance in protecting the harbour. The Government have expressed that the scope of reclamation cannot be minimized, however, Friends of the Harbour believe that the concept of using the minimum resources to create the maximum result. The feasible plan should be make use of the limited reclaimed land to build the waterfront corridor. In order to protect our harbour, the Government should explore other alternatives to solve the traffic problem instead of reclamation as it is not a sustainable solution. Therefore, Victoria Harbour and "Friends of the Harbour" need your support, your professional expertise and you to spread the words to others!! Thank you.
Background Proposed Reclamation in Victoria Harbour Projects Undertaken by the Society Presentation by Mr. Lester Huang (Downloadable PowerPoint File - 1 MB) Detailed Presentation on Background of Reclamation (Downloadable PowerPoint Slideshow - 10 MB) The Pros and Cons on Government's OZP and SPH Proposal(Downloadable PDF File - 1.5 MB) Read the Harbour Primer Online
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