My vision of our City

A THRIVING COMMUNITY enjoying:

Wise use of land and infrastructure to support economic prosperity and change;

• A flourishing and diverse local economy;
• Job and business creation; and
• Accessible quality services for all that are appropriate to people’s needs.

A HEALTHY CITY that offers:

• Good urban design featuring quality public spaces, built and natural environment;
• Clean, green and safe neighbourhoods that promote health and a family-friendly lifestyle;
• Environment and biodiversity protection; and
• Efficient and affordable transport services linking people to jobs, schools and other services.

A CULTURAL METROPOLIS which will:

• Give priority to local heritage and distinctiveness, and sense of community;
• Provide opportunities for cultural development, exchanges and enjoyment, including for children and disadvantaged groups; and
• Facilitate tolerance, respect and engagement with people from different cultures, backgrounds and beliefs.
  

West Kowloon Cultural District – The government's stop-start decision patterns are continuing up to this day since 1996. Suffering from the absence of a holistic harbour plan or a cultural vision, the government has been swayed by tides of commercial interests and is incapable to bring the project forward to the best of public interests

Tamar – A new government headquarters is being developed on this prime site despite the availability of a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative. Opportunities for enhancing the Central harbourfront for public enjoyment have been diminished and the future of the Government Hill heritage is under threat.

Walled Buildings – All along the shoreline tall buildings up to 80 storeys high are erected in rows with little regard to aesthetics and air ventilation requirements. Witness the recent cases in Na m heong and Chai Wan. More are being plann ed fo r Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan and around the harbour.

Wanchai Wedding Card Street – Out of their own initiative, the affected residents prepared the first ever citizen-led redevelopment plan so as to satisfy developmental needs and yet preserve the local community network. Despite winning a planning award from the Hong Kong Institute of Planners, the plan was rejected by TPB and largely ignored by URA.

Wanchai Market – The rare Bauhaus architecture could have been saved by more conscientious planning, such as a transfer of development rights using an adjourning site located in an open area of a public hospital. Instead, a developer was brought in by the URA to pull down the property for commercial gains.

Marginalised Communities – The mismatch between jobs and housing, and the under-provision of community facilities are creating marginalised communities in remote locations which are served by expensive transport links to the city, such as Tin Shui Wai and Tung Chung. Poor planning is producing poverty traps – aggravating income polarity in Hong Kong .

Degradation of Rural Land – “Third-world” scenes can be commonly found in the New Territories , such as Yuen Long and Fanling where ugly container storage yards, garages, backyard industrial operations and illegal dumping sites are scattered on otherwise agricultural land. Overseen by a government lacking in innovation and political will, these land-use conflicts have taken a heavy toll on the environment and deprived Hong Kong of valuable growth opportunities.

My government will:

• Revamp the Town Planning Board to be an independent, expert planning body with its own secretariat and budget, headed by a non-official;
• Install a two-tiered planning system by adding district-level, multi-stakeholder planning bodies and giving districts greater say in planning parameters such as zoning, density, building mass, functionality and diversity in accordance with community aspirations; and
• Enhance public engagement by funding a system of ‘planning aid' and to allow affected stakeholders easy access to independent professional advice.
• Protect heritage

My government will:

• Reform the Antiquities Advisory Board into a statutory Cultural Heritage Conservation Board with a two-tiered structure to facilitate community engagement at the district level;
• Adopt international best practice such as the Burra Charter and the China Principles to identify and manage heritage assets for this and future generations; and
• Establish a Cultural and Nature Conservation Trust to facilitate sustainable management and tripartite partnership with business and NGOs through a comprehensive conservation policy for built and natural heritage.

My government will:

• Change the URA's strategy from redevelopment to re-vitalisation of decaying urban fabric, and expand its scope to facilitate the regeneration of obsolete industrial areas;
• Require the URA to focus on the total benefits of redevelopment and regeneration rather than over-emphasize commercial constraints.
• Turn the URA into a facilitator of urban renewal rather than just act as a developer to bring all stakeholders together to identify the highest planning, design, health, environmental, social and community gains.
• Ensure multidisciplinary expertise can be applied to urban renewal by the URA funding research on the total regeneration benefits and capture good ideas for redevelopment in planning projects.

My government will:

• Review highways planning to reverse priority being given to roads rather than people, public health, environment and aesthetics.
• Protect Victoria Harbour from senseless reclamation for highways and commercial development.
• Fund study on harbour-front design and redevelopment to optimise the vast potential economic and social benefits to showcase Victoria Harbour for the long-term, including the development of SE Kowloon and West Kowloon .
• Stop the Tamar Project so Hong Kong has an opportunity to redesign the waterfront meeting public aspiration for open space, vibrancy, healthy environment and aesthetics.
• Lower height and mass of buildings to ensure waterfront public views are unobstructed by massive ‘walls' of new developments that gives land income to the government and profits to developers.
• Reduce ‘street canyon' effect to improve air quality, including giving the streets back to the people through extensive pedestrian schemes.
• Rationalise street clutter such as signs and signposts, including placing of street lights and traffic signs, for public safety, pedestrian convenience and aesthetics.
• Declare preservation sites to protect destruction or encroachment of sites of distinction in terms of Hong Kong identity, local history and culture – this will ensure sites such as the Star Ferry clock tower would not be destroyed.

My government will:

• Review plans for Lantau where the government wants to build container terminals, logistics parks and other large infrastructure usages that will create environmental degradation with dubious economic gains.
• Ensure farsighted plans for village redevelopment to ensure environmental condition and heritage preservation are properly highlighted – a current example is Mui Wo.
• Ensure plans for the Frontier Area will enhance long-term development so as to promote sensitive land uses and not just for the sake of commercial opportunism of vested interests.

My government will:

• Create ‘smart' jobs that combine the need to create low-skilled jobs in the construction and manual labour sector by ensuring workers apply themselves on urban planning and urban renewal projects that are well-designed to promote sound environmental protection, attractive architecture and landscaping, and heritage protection.
• Create ‘good' districts by ensuring District Action Plans include wise rezoning, reviving degraded areas, protecting the environment, and keeping up maintenance so areas with large numbers of low-income households can develop district pride.