Our Community
Heritage conservation:
Youth awaken to local identity
What concerns her is the future of Hong Kong. She said her generation had the right to conserve the land. ˇ§The current pace of development is just unsustainable,ˇ¨ said Miss Ko, who has set up a ˇ§Concerning Our Culture Clubˇ¨ with her friends to send out cultural conservation information to other young people.
Miss Ko also took part at the Star Ferry pier demonstration last December. She staged an overnight hunger strike with 15 other protesters to call for the stop to the demolition of the clock tower. A scuffle broke out between the protesters and the police when the group marched to the Government House to protest the next morning.
ˇ§I came face to face with a policeman, and we were only 10 centimetres apart,ˇ¨ Miss Ko recalled how she was blocked by the police in the march over the Star Ferry pier. ˇ§I screamed when he kicked me.ˇ¨
She described her first experience of a scuffle as ˇ§horrible and violentˇ¨.
The incident has prompted her to do more to conserve the cityˇ¦s heritage. ˇ§I want to set up an example. We young people have the power to change the society,ˇ¨ she said. If the young do not speak out, nothing can be improved, she added.
Facing growing public pressure after the Star Ferry pier incident, the government responded by including the idea of ˇ§collective memoryˇ¨ in assessing buildings and sites with rich heritage that have to be protected. Yet, the government has not clearly defined the term.
ˇ§This concept needs to be quantified through public consultation,ˇ¨ Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping told Varsity after the second round of public forum on conservation policy of built heritage on January 26.
Mr Ho said the public needed to understand that resources were limited and the government had to balance the interests of different parties.
The government has tried to reach out to the public, such as by holding a consultation exercise and planning to increase the transparency of the Antiquities Advisory Board.
Mr Ho said he would visit all the 18 district councils to collect public opinions directly. ˇ§This is not just about consultation. It is the collaboration (between the government and the citizens),ˇ¨ he stressed.
But some young people were dissatisfied that the government and the media had abused the term ˇ§collective memoryˇ¨.
Protesters spread out a banner across the square next to the Queenˇ¦s Pier.
