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Military Land - Hong Kong People should have their say

MILITARY LANDS – HONG KONG PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE THEIR SAY
(Press Release to the South China Morning Post on 10 June 1993)

As the British and Chinese teams in the Joint Liaison Group discuss the future use of the land currently used by the British military forces in Hong Kong, it is timely to ask, what should Hong Kong people look for from these negotiations?

The Foundation believes we should be looking for more housing. The military lands are an immense unappreciated asset in our midst that could be used to solve our housing problem.

The military lands are so large that even if most of the space were used for to provide much needed housing and recreation area for the people of Hong Kong, there would still be plenty to meet the military needs of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) after 1997.

The military lands comprise some 5,900 hectares or more than 5% of the territory. This represents 118 years of land supply at the rate set down in the Joint Declaration – an indication of the immense potential of this space for Hong Kong.

The two largest areas are the 2,190 hectares of the Castle Peak firing range and the 2,900 hectares at the border. However there are substantial areas in urban Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island. The needs of the people of Hong Kong should be given priority in discussions over the disposition of these lands.

The Foundation accepts the jurisdiction of the Government of China over defence matters relating to the future Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong, including the right to station PLA troops here. We also accept that defence is a specialised and confidential matter, and that accordingly defence needs cannot always be publicly discussed.

However the Foundation believes that there are certain factors arising from Hong Kong's unique circumstances which set limits to the "defence" aspect of the debate. These factors are

* The Hong Kong SAR will not be a country, or even a province, with its own defence needs. It will be merely a municipality within a very large country, hundreds of miles from the nearest foreign power.

* The needs of the PLA in the SAR after 1997 cannot be compared with the historical requirements of the British forces in Hong Kong. The British forces were expected to maintain a presence in a colonial outpost thousands of miles from the mother country. After 1997 Hong Kong will lie securely in the embrace of the mother country, and its defence needs must be correspondingly less. We should not be bound by history in the military lands debate.

* Much of Hong Kong is densely populated urban area. Most of the remainder is mountainous. Hong Kong's territory is not suitable for the large scale deployment of troops, especially when large open spaces are available just across the border.

* Hong Kong's overwhelming social and economic need is for more land. Land is needed to build homes, to provide parks and recreation space in the urban and country areas, and to build offices, roads and infrastructure. The military lands are a boon that should greatly improve the quality of life as well as the prosperity of Hong Kong.

In view of the above factors, the Foundation believes that disposition of the lands now occupied by the British forces is only partly a defence matter. To the extent that it is not a defence matter, it is proper in accordance with the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law for Hong Kong people to express their views and needs as to the use of their land.

The Foundation believes the following six principles should guide the discussion over the military lands.

1. In view of the special factors noted above, the PLA should not need as much land for military purposes in the SAR after 1997 as the British forces have historically required. This means that much of the existing military land would be unneeded and free for other uses.

2. It would be helpful for the Chinese Government to specify its land needs as precisely as possible, so that they can be matched against the existing sites.

3. The PLA troops should be stationed in areas removed as far as possible from the urban areas, for the mutual convenience and safety of the military and the urban population.

4. Lands not required for military purposes should be returned to the Hong Kong Government as soon as possible without charge, subject to existing agreements for compensation over buildings.

5. Land in urban areas should be used in the first place for public rental or Home Ownership Scheme housing, recreational facilities, and infrastructure. Commercial and private housing use should be a second priority. Land in rural or mountainous areas should be converted into country park.

6. Land allocated for public housing or recreation should be granted by the government without charge. Land for commercial use or for private housing should be auctioned, with half the proceeds being paid into the SAR Land Fund, as under the present system.

On the basis of these six principles, the Foundation recommends for consideration the following disposition of the military lands.

Stonecutters Island and Shek Kong Camp, totalling 325 hectares, should be sufficient for the barracks and other facilties required by the PLA and the Chinese Navy and Airforce. It more space is required, we would propose the Shek Kong Village, which would provide a further 70 hectares, bringing the total to 395 hectares.

The Castle Peak firing range should not be needed after 1997 given that far superior ranges exist across the border. We therefore recommend that most of the land be converted into country park, with consideration being given to building private housing along part of the coast together with a main road around the entire peninsular.

The border area will not have the same significance after 1997, given that Hong Kong will be a region of China. We recommend that as much as possible of it be converted into country park.

The Osborne Barracks and the other three sites within urban Kowloon should be converted into residential and recreational space, especially for Public Rental and HOS housing. This would greatly relieve pressure on the most densely populated area of the territory.

Stanley fort and the five remaining sites in the New Territories should be converted into recreational space and housing, with consideration being given to the creation of an industrial park on one of the New Territory sites.

The Foundation believes that it is important for Hong Kong people to discuss the best use for each of the individual sites and to press their views upon both sovereign governments. The allocation of the lands not needed for defence purposes should follow the views of the Hong Kong people.