Double decker buses to trial on South Lantau

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The New Lantao Bus Co (NLB) is considering a trial of double decker buses on South Lantau to cope with an expected spike in population

Deputy general manager Benny Chan said the company was in discussion with the Transport Dept on testing two-decked vehicles on the 3M route between Tung Chung and Mui Wo.

He said the plan was still in its early stages, and no timetable has been set. If it does go ahead, he said most likely it would be divided into two phases – first on Tung Chung Rd only and then on South Lantau Rd. Continue reading →

Explains a lot: Lantau is central to Leung’s reelection

Zhang Dejiang’s short visit (or inspection) has told us that Lantau is not just a big deal in Hong Kong. It’s a pretty big deal in Beijing, and an even bigger deal for CY Leung’s reelection (or ‘reelection’) strategy.

The Development Bureau was the first place on Zhang’s official agenda, which soon became well-known to Hong Kong thanks to this photograph of the VIP inspecting this hefty 3D visualisation of the Lantau plans:

Dev Bureau

Suits meet the model (Source: Development Bureau)

Continue reading →

Prosecutions for closed road breaches up sharply

Prosecutions of drivers entering South Lantau without a permit have risen by nearly three-fifths in the last two years, according to Transport Dept figures.

Police prosecuted 1007 drivers last year, up from 823 in 2014 and 637 in 2013, the department said in answer to a question from Legco member Kwok Ka Ki.

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South Lantau police chief David Bennett, a former traffic policeman who took on the post early last year, has said he would make road safety a priority.

Prosecutions soar for Lantau closed road breaches

Prosecutions of drivers entering South Lantau without a permit have risen by nearly three-fifths in the last two years, according to Transport Dept figures.

Police prosecuted 1007 drivers last year, up from 823 in 2014 and 637 in 2013, the department said in answer to a question from Legco member Kwok Ka Ki.

Screenshot 2016-05-20 15.50.45

South Lantau police chief David Bennett, a former traffic policeman who took on the post early last year, has said he would make road safety a priority.

A couple more for the banner collection

For the record, a couple more banners next to the Mui Wo ferry pier.

Resident Ben Sargent commented on my earlier piece that banners calling for the redevelopment of Chi Ma Wan prison are up in the Ham Tin/Pui O area. So whoever is doing it is reasonably thorough. And also, you’d have to say, a touch conspiratorial and counter-productive.  What’s the point of making an intervention in local issues if you’re not going to identify yourself?

As posted earlier, one resident claims to have seen former local District Councillor Rainbow Wong and a team putting up the banners in Pui O.

There is no sign the banners have been approved by the Lands Department. Local environmental activists say they must apply months in advance to get just a single banner space.

Continue reading →

Anonymous banners getting govt message out on Lantau development

A series of banners promoting the government’s ‘develop Lantau’ message have popped up all over South Lantau in the last three days.  The unusual feature is that no one has put their name to them.

What’s also unusual is that, unlike the government grand plan that includes inflatable water toys, cable cars and artificial islands, these messages include practical ideas that could improve people’s lives, like better internet and a functioning sewage system.

That said, these promotions are on the same page with the government on conservation, with one banner asserting that environmental protection should not take precedence over development.

Photos and translations of ten of the banners below.

(UPDATE: One Pui O resident posted on a local Facebook page that she’d seen former Islands District Councillor Rainbow Wong hanging the banners. Wong was the preferred Rural Committee representative for a decade until the local powerbrokers threw their weight behind Randy Yu at last year’s election. )

IMG_20160429_132331‘Support Lantau Development: Cut ferry ticket prices’ – Mui Wo roundabout Continue reading →

Rethinking Lantau development

Sunset Pui O

Highlights from submission to the Development Bureau  (full submission here).

No Vision, No Data, No Conservation

The decision-making process on Lantau’s future appears to be explicitly designed to exclude community input. From day one LanDAC membership has been almost wholly drawn from the real estate, tourist and logistics industries, along with government political supporters and appointees.  The public rightly doubts the genuineness of this ‘consultation.’

The government plan offers no vision for the island: what will it be like to visit, live or work in Lantau in 2026, 2036 or beyond? The report doesn’t say. At the same time it tries to micro-manage tourist development in ways that are counter-productive. Continue reading →

Declare independence, save Lantau

Public consultation (or ‘consultation’) on Lantau development is in its final week. On recent evidence it is difficult to believe it will make a difference.

This blog has attended two public forums on Lantau in the past fortnight – one at Hong Kong University and the other one at Pier 8, Central. The way these work is that senior officials turn up, take notes and occasionally answer questions while people tell them what they’re doing wrong. Then they go back to their offices, tick the ‘consultation’ box and life goes on.

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Lantau Community Forum, Pier 8

Exhibit A for Lantau is the four years of consultation over the Shek Kwu Chau incinerator that yielded exactly zero changes to the original plan. Continue reading →

SCMP: Ma survives cloying interview but has no idea how to fix business

The SCMP’s ‘exclusive’ interview with new boss Jack Ma is exactly as you’d expect.

Screenshot 2016-04-21 16.59.02The one highlight is the unintentional lulz from writer Chow Chungyan, who declared that the acquisition had sparked fears that the Post would “change its direction.”  That is 100% wrong; people feared it wouldn’t change course. He adds:

A few even believed the paper might henceforth gloss over sensitive or controversial issues that risked incurring the wrath of the Chinese leadership.

To prove that the Post wasn’t in the glossing over business, the writer refrains from asking about the Panama Papers coverage, the steady decline in press freedom and the bookseller abductions and instead lets Ma to treat us to banalities about eastern philosophy. Continue reading →

Sign of the times

sign 2 10

This simple sign contains four ideas totally absent from discussions about the future of Lantau:

  1. The environmentally fragile coastline should be protected
  2. It is a natural asset for all to enjoy
  3. It is important that it should be publicly accessible
  4. Government should be play an active role to ensure 1), 2) and 3)

What it doesn’t say: the coastline should be turned into a frontline economic development zone to  support mass tourism.