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Following is the speech delivered by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the International Conference on Heritage Conservation 2011 "Conservation and Development - Partners or Rivals?" held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today (December 12):
Mr Shan, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning everyone. Welcome to Hong Kong, particularly those from overseas. This is a very important forum to celebrate heritage conservation in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is known around the world for its glittering skyline and fast-paced city life. What you see and experience is indeed part of our DNA as a city and a community. It is the result of the hard work and commitment of our people, as well as careful planning for the future by the Government.
As a small and open economy completely plugged into the global market, we have to be fast, efficient and nimble, and offer world-class service. An important part of that equation is making sure that we have the physical infrastructure in place to ensure that Hong Kong can compete and prosper as a global centre for finance, business services, logistics and tourism.
For decades, we have spent tens of billions of dollars on our airport, railways, bridges, tunnels and roads, on infrastructure supporting our port, as well as on housing, recreation, sewerage and drainage. We will continue to do the same for many years ahead.
This magnificent conference venue that we are in today is a strategic infrastructure project that underpins the development of our tourism, trade show and convention sectors. And, when you look outside, you will see that the entire waterfront is in the midst of its biggest single transformation in our history.
There are also huge projects underway on the opposite side of the harbour in Kowloon - projects that include cultural development, a cruise terminal, a 50,000-seat stadium, urban regeneration and the creation of a new CBD with some four million square metres of prime office space, waterfront promenades and an environmentally friendly people mover system.
As you can see, Hong Kong never stands still. We invest heavily in infrastructure to modernise our city, improve the living environment, to maintain our global competitiveness and most important, to create jobs.
But, there comes a time during the course of a city's development and evolution when we need to stop and ask: "Have we gone too far?" "Have we done too much?" "Have we lost some part of the soul of our city?"
A progressive city treasures its own culture and history along with its unique character and living experience. In recent years there have been higher public expectations on the Government to preserve our built heritage. This has made us think hard about how we can best balance the development needs of a modern metropolis such as Hong Kong with the demands - and need - to conserve our heritage.
In my 2007 Policy Address, I announced a new heritage conservation policy and promised to press ahead with heritage conservation work during my term of office.
Over the past four years we have made good progress with our various heritage conservation efforts. This conference, instigated by the Development Bureau, is part of those efforts. We have brought together local and international experts to review our work, to learn from what others do and how they do it, and to help us plot a course forward.
One of the first policy measures we put in place was to subject all public works projects in Hong Kong to a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA). This ensures that the conservation of historic sites and buildings will be given due consideration at the project planning stage, and that any adverse impacts can be avoided or mitigated.
Since the introduction of this measure in 2008, over 2 500 public projects have gone through the screening process. Of those, about 30 have been singled out to undergo a detailed HIA.
Hong Kong is a dynamic city, and it has always been my view that historic buildings here should not be just preserved as if they were antiquities or a museum exhibit. We believe they should be given a new lease of life which will benefit the public.
In 2008, we launched the "Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme". This allows non-profit-making organisations to submit proposals for the adaptive re-use of Government-owned historic buildings in the mode of social enterprise, and to transform these historic buildings into unique cultural landmarks.
Nine revitalisation projects under the first two batches of the Scheme are being implemented smoothly. Among them, the former North Kowloon Magistracy has been converted into the Savannah College of Arts and Design Hong Kong Campus. The revitalised facility was opened in September 2010 and we were delighted when the project received an Honourable Mention in the 2011 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for a Culture Heritage Conservation programme.
We are currently inviting proposals for another batch of four historic buildings under the Scheme (Batch III of the Scheme). To take forward the Scheme, the Government will provide appropriate financial support to ensure it is viable. We have earmarked some HK$2 billion - or US$255 million - for this purpose. We hope that through the Government's commitment to, and investment in, heritage conservation we can enrich our community by linking the past to the present while cultivating a future ongoing use.
In my 2009 Policy Address, I announced the "Conserving Central" initiative. This builds on the Government's commitment to harbourfront enhancement and heritage conservation, and champions more greening and connectivity.
Projects under the Conserving Central initiative are making good progress. We are pushing ahead with our plans to revitalise the former Central Police Station Compound into a centre for heritage, arts and leisure; and we will transform the Former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road into a creative industries landmark in partnership with non-profit-making organisations.
We have also initiated the rezoning process to preserve and conserve the Murray Building, a government office block, so it can be reconverted into use as a hotel. The Central Market will also be revitalised into a "Central Oasis" to provide much-needed space and greenery amidst the hustle and bustle of Central and a trendy hang-out for the working population in Central.
The Conserving Central programme will preserve many of our social, historical and architectural features in Central while adding new life and vibrancy to the area.
In a place such as Hong Kong, where real estate prices can skyrocket, the conservation of privately-owned historic buildings is a great challenge. We recognise that respecting private property rights is one of Hong Kong's core values, and that is why we need an innovative approach to tackling this issue.
We have now devised a policy to provide appropriate economic incentives to private owners in exchange for conserving the historical buildings they own. After four years in practice, this policy has yielded some encouraging results.
King Yin Lei, a landmark historic mansion on Stubbs Road, is the first case of suitable economic incentives offered by the Government to facilitate the conservation of a privately owned historical building. Some of you may visit it tomorrow afternoon on one of the post-conference tours.
We have also applied the policy to conserve other historic buildings through other economic incentives, such as planning relaxation, transfer of development plot ratio, etc.
We also launched a Financial Assistance for Maintenance Scheme to provide grants to the owners of privately-owned historic buildings to help them carry out maintenance works. Since the introduction of the Scheme in 2008, we have approved 19 applications worth some HK$16 million - or US$2 million. Once maintenance works are complete, the historic buildings will be open for public access.
Ladies and gentlemen, development and conservation do not have to be opposing forces. They can be two sides of the same coin, as Carrie just mentioned to you. We can, and should, strike a balance between development and heritage conservation. To maintain a good balance between the two, however, is not an easy task. It requires the concerted efforts of all parties concerned, as well as mutual trust and understanding.
I am delighted to see so many people from the heritage conservation sector - local and international - actively taking part in this Conference today. As heritage conservation is a work in progress, the sharing of experience and lessons learnt elsewhere is most timely. That is why this Conference is such an important event for us.
Finally, I would like to remind you all - if you need reminding - that Christmas is only two weeks away. You will see from the beautiful decorations around town that we celebrate Christmas in Hong Kong with as much enthusiasm as we do for Chinese New Year. We have some great pre-Christmas sales going on, so by all means give the credit cards a good workout.
I wish you all the best in your discussions over the next two days and extend my warmest and sincerest wishes for a happy festive season, and a very healthy and prosperous New Year.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Monday, December 12, 2011
Issued at HKT 12:30
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