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  Yahoo News 12 Apr 07
Hong Kong party demands UN protection for harbour

Hong Kong's main political party called Thursday on the government to seek UN protection for the city's famous harbour, which is under threat from reclamation and development.

Protection of the harbour has become a key concern of conservationists in Hong Kong who view Victoria Harbour not only as a lucrative tourist asset but an essential part of the maritime city's cultural heritage. However, near-continuous reclamation over the past century has reduced the waterway to half its original size.

The Democratic Alliance for the Progress and Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) urged the Beijing-backed government of the southern Chinese territory to seek World Heritage status.

In a policy paper the pro-government party, which dominates the territory's legislature, called on Hong Kong to follow the lead of neighbouring Macau and seek listing from the United Nations.

More than 20 sites of historical importance -- some dating back to the 16th century -- in the centre of the Macau, also a largely autonomous territory of southern China, were included on the list in 2005.

Listing obliges countries to protect sites from developers and plunderers, and makes them eligible to receive United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) grants.

Widespread public anger greeted the government's most recent reclamation of 23 hectares (57 acres) of land from the shore of the island's Central business and shopping district to build a road bypass to ease congestion.

The works were agreed despite the government passing a law a year earlier that was designed to prevent further reclamation.

Until now, conservation activists have been drawn largely from opposition ranks and the save-the-harbour campaign has been labelled anti-government as a result.

"That the DAB has proposed this shows that the harbour's proper management is not anti-government or anti-development," said Paul Zimmerman, who heads Designing Harbour District, a planning group campaigning for better use of the waterway.

The DAB paper said Hong Kong could benefit from China's survey of sites it would consider proposing for listing with UNESCO later in the year.

Zimmerman agreed, saying other key Hong Kong heritage and sites of cultural significance, such as the space-age downtown HSBC building and Cantonese opera and tea houses, could also get a chance of protection.

"The point is, this sort of survey has never been done in Hong Kong," he said. "The DAB proposal is excellent because it could get everybody -- the community and the government -- focused on what is worth preserving," he added.
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