Government to ‘be its own judge': Hong Kong harbour fighter weighs challenge
An advocacy group that has fought to protect Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour for 30 years may take the government to court for passing a legal amendment to relax reclamation restrictions, calling it the last-ditch effort before the organisation closes.
Advertisement
Winston Chu Ka-sun, founder of the Society for Protection of the Harbour, said on Saturday that the society had begun winding up procedures before a 'new turn of events' from legal advisers that might push the group to remain in operation for the time being.
'However, in this new turn of events, we are advised by senior counsel that there may be a remedy through the law courts. The law courts may be able to declare that this law offends the common law,' Chu said.
The 85-year-old lawyer, who began campaigning to protect the harbour in 1995, expressed his disappointment with a legal amendment on Wednesday that allows the government to carry out small-scale and temporary reclamation works.
The legal amendment also paves the way for large-scale reclamation under a new mechanism.
Advertisement
The new mechanism allows the chief executive and his advisers to decide if large-scale reclamation projects at Victoria Harbour could go ahead, replacing current rules stating all reclamation at the harbour is forbidden unless proven to have an 'overriding public need' supported by 'cogent and convincing materials' in court.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
44 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump admin launches review of Aukus submarine pact with Australia and UK
US President Donald Trump's administration has launched a formal review of a defence pact worth hundreds of billions of dollars that his predecessor Joe Biden made with Australia and the United Kingdom, allowing Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear submarines, a US defence official said. Advertisement The formal Pentagon-led review is likely to alarm Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defence as tensions grow over China's expansive military build-up. It could also throw a wrench in Britain's defence planning. The Aukus security alliance is at the centre of a planned expansion of its submarine fleet. 'We are reviewing Aukus as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the president's America First agenda,' the official said of the review, which was first reported by the Financial Times. 'Any changes to the administration's approach for Aukus will be communicated through official channels, when appropriate.' 02:52 China warns Aukus against going down 'dangerous road' over nuclear-powered submarine pact China warns Aukus against going down 'dangerous road' over nuclear-powered submarine pact Aukus, formed in 2021 to address shared worries about China's growing power, is designed to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines and other advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Rubio seeks probe of Harvard collaboration on conference in China, report says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pushing to investigate whether Harvard University violated federal sanctions, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by the newspaper. Rubio is pushing to investigate if Harvard violated sanctions by collaborating on a health insurance conference in China that may have included officials blacklisted by the United States, the paper said. The university has been conducting an internal review into the involvement of the Chinese state-run group Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps at the conference, the paper added. Rubio signed off on a recommendation to the US Treasury Department last month to open an investigation, the report said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. 04:21 Citing China 'activity', Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students Citing China 'activity', Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students A Treasury Department spokesman said the agency takes 'any allegations of sanctions violations extremely seriously' but declined to comment on possible or pending investigations. A US State Department spokesperson also declined to comment.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How Philippines' Sara Duterte won round 1 of impeachment battle
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has won round one of her impeachment battle after her allies in the Senate tossed back the bid to the Lower House on claims it was 'defective' and 'unconstitutional'. The unprecedented move on Tuesday, which was settled by a vote of 18-5, has triggered an intense debate online about the senators' actions and Duterte-Carpio's political future. 'I think, for now, Sara has momentum even if the president still has three years left in his term of office,' political risk analyst Rolando Llamas told This Week in Asia, referring to the country's leader, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. There has been widespread speculation that Duterte-Carpio is expected to contest the 2028 presidential election, and her ally, Senator Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa, told his colleagues on Tuesday that the impeachment trial was meant to derail that. But whether she could clinch the presidency even if she were to escape impeachment would depend on her support from youth and millennial voters, with these groups seen as more demanding of accountability from officials, according to Llamas. This demographic enabled the Akbayan party list group to unexpectedly win the recent Senate midterm elections, with Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino, two opposition senators who are not allied with either the Duterte family or Marcos Jnr, coming into office, according to Llamas.
