Central Star ferry pier: policy, politics andprotest in the making of heritage in Hong Kong

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on Central Star Ferry Pier whose impending and actual demolition in 2006 provoked an unprecedented level of confrontation over historic conservation between the Hong Kong government and civil society groups. The confrontation continued in 2007 over the dismantling of Queen’s Pier, whose reassembly and relocation continue to be a subject of debate today. Case studies of these two piers describe their history, trace the conflicts over their fate within the broader controversy over harbour reclamation, place the disputes in social and political context, and analyse constructions of their cultural significance amid changing values. Particular attention is paid to definitions and redefinitions of the piers’ significance (or lack thereof) in relation to contemporary issues in Hong Kong society and governance, such as the formation of post-colonial identity and struggle for democratisation. This long-running drama in two acts not only underscored the neglect of built-heritage conservation in urban planning in Hong Kong, but also called into question its developmental model and consultative system. Its outcome was a paradigm shift in public understanding of and official approaches to urban conservation, better recognition of social value in heritage making and greater efforts to integrate it into the sustainable development of Hong Kong.