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The Government will launch another series of consultations on built heritage conservation, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr Patrick Ho, said today (January 8).
Dr Ho said the consultation would extend the existing consultative framework to include a review of the operations of the Antiquities Advisory Board and to establish more consultation channels to increase public participation in the work of heritage conservation.
He said that the Government saw a recent spate of public concern and heated discussions on heritage conservation in the community, particularly on people's yearning for collective memory. This has reflected greater public demand for heritage protection with more vehement and concrete discussions, than in 2004 when the Review of Built Heritage Conservation Policy was conducted.
Dr Ho said: "The Chief Executive was deeply touched. He instructed the Home Affairs Bureau to consult the public again on built heritage conservation policy this month to further gauge views from the districts and different sectors of society in greater depth. The issue of which buildings to be conserved will also be fully explored."
He said that in the last consultation exercise, the Home Affairs Bureau tried to gauge public views about heritage conservation policy on a conceptual level, seeking to build a consensus. However, as Hong Kong was then recovering from SARS, even though a number of consultation forums were held and despite the wide publicity in the community to promote heritage conservation awareness, public response was lukewarm. Many of the views collected came from professional and concern groups.
He said: "We originally planned to put up a series of practicable options to improve heritage conservation for discussion by the public and concern groups in the middle of this year. But there were intensive public debates on the Star Ferry last year. This has led the public to cherish collective memory and Hong Kong's indigenous culture. We are delighted to see increasing public awareness of the importance of heritage conservation.
"The Government agrees that built heritage conservation should not be limited to protecting the historical and architectural features of buildings. Collective memory in association with the buildings should also be preserved, as they bear witness to Hong Kong people's way of life, culture, social movements and collective experience of historical events.
"We will actively collect public views and consider how to expand the current built heritage assessment criteria, incorporating elements about 'collective memory' as appropriate. Public views will be sought on the new assessment criteria later on."
Dr Ho said that the Home Affairs Bureau would conduct two large-scale regional forums, three open forums and a focus group discussion with the relevant professional sectors between the middle of this month and early next month.
"Through the series of public consultations, together with a more comprehensive and detailed explanation on the implementation of the current policy on heritage conservation, we would, together with members of the community, have a critical assessment of the heritage value of our historic buildings. It will also enhance the transparency of the current mechanism of our heritage conservation," he said.
Dr Patrick Ho also pointed out that the Government was aware of the limitations of the existing consultation mechanism, measures would be taken to broaden the consultation systems including a review of the operation of the AAB, and the establishment of more public consultation channels.
"The Chief Executive has appointed 28 members to a new term of the AAB, while 13 are re-appointed, 15 are new members. They are professionals coming from various sectors of the community. Many of them are closely involved in heritage protection work and public policies over the years. Many are also young opinion leaders. I hope that the new set-up will bring new thoughts and impetus to the board," said Dr Ho.
Dr Ho also stressed that the new board would focus on pursuing views and advice from various community bodies and concern groups to make the professional work of AAB more acceptable to the community.
"For that purpose, we are planning to set up three sub-committees. One on the protection and revitalisation of heritage buildings, the second one on research, standardisation and legislation matters, and the last one on community involvement, education and publicity. We would invite members of the public to be members of these sub-committees to gauge views from different sectors of society and strengthen their co-operation with District Councils," he said.
He said heritage conservation and urban development did not go against each other, the most important point was to maintain a balance for sustainable development of the society.
He also urged the general public to join the open forums on how to achieve better built heritage conservation.
Ends/Monday, January 8, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:12
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