HONG KONG: A distinguished environmental group in Hong Kong stated on Friday (Aug 1) it was disbanding after a long time of campaigning to guard Victoria Harbour from large-scale reclamation, citing a brand new regulation that weakens oversight of such initiatives.
The Society for Safety of the Harbour (SPH) stated current amendments to land reclamation guidelines had consolidated an excessive amount of energy within the fingers of presidency decision-makers, violating key public regulation rules. Regardless of submitting authorized recommendation to authorities, the group stated it acquired no response earlier than the invoice handed in Might.
SPH’s closure marks the most recent retreat of civil society in Hong Kong for the reason that imposition of a sweeping nationwide safety regulation in 2020, which has led to the arrest or exile of tons of of democracy activists and the closure of quite a few organisations.
Secretary for Growth Bernadette Linn informed the pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po in June that the federal government had encountered “delicate resistance” a time period usually used to explain ideological dissent, in the course of the regulation’s modification course of. She cited a social media submit by SPH warning that reclamation plans posed dangers to the harbour.
The Growth Bureau on Friday acknowledged SPH’s previous contributions to harbourfront affairs however defended the brand new regulation, saying it had “strengthened laws on large-scale reclamation” in Victoria Harbour.
In its farewell message, SPH stated it hoped the harbourfront would ultimately be declared a “Nationwide Treasure of China” and safeguarded “for the advantage of the current and future generations.”
