The pier, built along the newly reclaimed waterfront, was designed in a style, and was opened by Maurine Grantham, wife of Governor Alexander Grantham in June 1954.
On 26 April 2007, the pier was officially closed by the government in order to facilitate land reclamation, soon after was closed. There was fierce opposition by conservationists, who carried over their campaign to preserve the landmark. Police officers evicted some 30 protesters from the site on 1 August 2007; activists filed for a judicial review, and the High Court hearing began on 7 August. On 10 August, the court dismissed the request.
Finally, the Queen's Pier was completely demolished in February 2008. Its base piles were also removed in March 2008. In 2008, since dismantling, the government attempts to create the appearance of public support for reassembling the pier at the new waterfront has been criticised by conservationists.. It was a sheltered pier made of concrete and steel, with round pillars and arches, built on the waterfront at Pedder Street on the site of the present at a cost of 20,000. Intended to open in time for the arrival of , the Prince of Wales, construction delays postponed its completion until October 1925..
The pier was opened by Maurine Grantham, wife of Governor Alexander Grantham on 28 June 1954.
Function
The pier's primary r?le was ceremonial. It was the traditional landing place of successive Governors, who would arrive at Central on board the official Governor's yacht which would dock at Queen's Pier. From the 1960s, Governors would inspect the Guard of honour at Edinburgh Place, followed by the official swearing-in at the City Hall, Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales, landed there in November 1989.
The pier's secondary r?le was as a public pier, where pleasure craft were allowed to dock. Tour boats offering a view of the Kowloon side of the harbour used the pier for passenger boarding. Up to 1978, it was the winning line for the annual cross-harbour swimming race. As the ceremonies declined, the pier's secondary purpose became the main one: people met and strolled in the area; some fished.
On 26 April 2007, the pier was officially closed in order to facilitate land reclamation in Central.
The Pier's future
From the outset, the fate of the pier has been intimately linked with the which was unveiled in 1989 but not explicitly spelled out as such. However, the scale of reclamations has only been slightly cut back following significant legal battles.
The Government's position
Following the controversy and the demolition of the in early 2007, activists declared Queen's Pier the next battle-ground against the policy of the Government of Hong Kong. The criticism received over its handling of the Star Ferry Pier caused Michael Suen, the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, to propose a piece-by-piece relocation of the pier to a new location on the reclaimed waterfront during a session on 21 March 2007. The Government later unveiled four design options for such relocation. The intended closure of the pier was 26 April 2007.
At the end of January 2007, the government declared it would postpone the demolition of Queen's Pier until a consensus could be reached on the course of action; consultations with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers, and the Conservancy Association were held.
Donald Tsang said that being overzealous in saving the past may hurt Hong Kong's competitiveness, and called on activists to take a more balanced view toward economic growth and conservation. Soon after Tsang's , on 26 March, the Government pressed ahead with plans to dismantle and move the entire pier, piece by piece, enabling the reclamation to go ahead.
The government stated the in-situ preservation, though apparently viable on paper, would risk irreversible damage to the pier. Furthermore, it argued that important underground facilities such as the Airport Railway Extended Overrun Tunnel would be affected, saying a natural curvature of the track was required. Although Lam's performance in public debates was praised, the Secretary for Development's conflict of interest as the head of the Antiquities Authority was criticised. Lam said the AAB did not have governmental authority, and that it had not suggested keeping the pier in its totality. The paper suggested that reassembling it in the same location could take as long as December 2012, as re-alignment of the proposed Road P2 would be involved.
District councils
The government polled 16 s, fourteen of which voted in support of relocating the pier to the new water-front. However, in July 2008 activists cried foul when eight councils revealed that the preservation of the pier in its existing location was not put forth as one of the options; the Vice-chairmen of two councils which voted to support also objected that their decision may have not been an informed one as not all possible options were on the table. The Chief town planner said that the omitted proposal "was not an efficient option and would create unnecessary construction waste."
After it was revealed in August 2008 that the government was behind the 13 concerted District Councils' motions in 2008 supporting the relocation of the pier to the new waterfront, Albert Ho condemned the government of tampering with s in order to "create public opinion." Convenor of the Urban Design Alliance doubted the openness of consultation, saying that "the government had engineered its results". Dr. Li Pang-kwong, of , said that the problematic framework of the councils has led them to work too closely with government. He said the 'copy and paste' Queen's Pier motions passed by 13 councils to support government decisions was a rubber-stamp, and a clear sign that councils lacked independence.
Conservationists' position
Ron Phillips, original designer of the pier, backed preservation, saying that any loss of the City Hall and the adjacent open space would be something "future generations will come to regret". The proposed 40 metre wide road, planned in the 1980s, was now "obsolete", and would make the waterfront "inaccessible to the public". Albert Lai, Chairman of the Hong Kong People's Council for Sustainable Development, drew attention to the fact that the budgeted spending for infrastructure over the past three years of 90 billion contrasted poorly with HK$90 million spent on acquiring and renovating heritage sites.
Preservation campaign battlefronts
Public and media
In September 2004, legislator Law Chi-kwong took a swim in Victoria Harbour bearing a plaque saying "Goodbye to the Queen", to protest the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation, particularly the loss of Queen's Pier.
Soon after the unsuccessful attempt to save the Star Ferry pier in early 2007, a campaign to preserve the pier ''in situ'' was launched. Ahead of the closure, members of the public, environmentalists, and some lawmakers arrived to tie blue ribbons to indicate their desire to preserve . On 22 April, about 100 protesters once again rallied at the pier, launching farewell voyages in a last-ditch attempt to urge the Government to reconsider: a petition of over 400 signatures from the Arts community was collected.
An occupation of the pier was started by ten activists on the designated closure date. The campaign was boosted by the appearance of Chow Yun-fat early on the morning of 28 April to sign the petition, and to appeal pre-emptively to the police not to hurt protesters. Some activists, like Chu Hoi-dick, have been involved in the Star Ferry pier protest, and took turns to maintain a round-the-clock presence. Leung Chun-yiu, who works a full-time job yet spent 3 nights a week at the site, vowing to block the demolition non-violently, in any way he can.
On 27 July, three students, as part of a group called ' ''Local Action''' started a hunger strike on the pier. Hunger-striker Chan King-fai said: "The government wasn't chosen by us. All we can do is to use our humble and limited voices. In an operation which lasted ten hours during daylight hours on 1 August 2007, 300 Police officers cleared away the 30 or so protesters from the site, amid scuffles. Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor complained that its observers were denied access to the area during the eviction.
In Legco
An application for HK$50 million to fund the dismantling and relocating of the pier was scheduled for debate by the Public Works sub-committee on 9 May 2007, the same day the Antiquities Advisory Board would hold a public hearing to decide on the historical grading of the pier due to the lack of support. Choy So-yuk, from the usually pro-Government , called for the vote to be postponed, and the equally did not back the Government. However, Government ministers declared that it had "no plans to list the pier as a ", and insisted that there was "no direct relationship between the grading and whether we will demolish and relocate the pier". Civic Party legislative councillor Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung said that there was "no sincerity to preserve historic venues". Choy So-yuk, who voted against the appropriation on 9 May, abstained. She revealed that she had been lobbied by Michael Suen and Donald Tsang; party did not allow her to cast an opposing vote.
After the hearing, an activist from 'Local Action' declared the AAB's decision a victory for the people, and warned the government "not to treat the voice of the people lightly", claiming that Secretary for Home Affairs' decision not to declare the structure a monument was unreasonable and illegal. The set the date for the case to be heard on 7 August. Judge Johnson Lam said that the case about the future of Queen's Pier should be heard as there is great public interest in the outcome and thus a one-week respite for the site.
Institute of Planners controversy
The Hong Kong Institute of Planners, the majority of whose members work in government departments, had backed the ''in-situ'' preservation of the pier. There was uproar in May 2008 when it made an apparent U-turn in a position paper submitted to the government backing the relocation to a waterfront location, based on a sparsely attended meeting. It then submitted a revised paper presenting that a majority of its members supported such a move as a conclusion prior to the completion of a survey. A former vice-president of the institute questioned how the institute had become allies of the government.
Popular culture
The pier is featured in following:
* ''My Date with a Vampire''
* ''Life Made Simple''
* ''Glittering Days''
* Sam Hui's song "Goodbye Bell" Music Video
No comments:
Post a Comment