The three musketeers in heritage conservation: a study of the existing legal framework for effectiveurban conservation in Hong Kong

Abstract

 “Actions are better than words.” Since the establishment of The Culture and Heritage Commission in 2000, the Hong Kong Government has been trying to review the situation and devise policies for conservation for Hong Kong. Various Government departments had prepared working papers or research reports to review the problems on heritage conservation and the limitations of our system since 2000. One of the obvious restrictions in the system is the existing conservation legislation. Notwithstanding the announcement of the built heritage conservation policy by the former Chief Executive, Mr. Donald Tsang, in 2007, the Government still takes no active and comprehensive measures in reviewing and amending the legislation. As Mr. Donald Tsang once said, collective memory is a great concern of the public in Hong Kong. It seems that if the conservation legislation is not on the agenda for review in the near future, some of the heritage buildings under threat will really become our collective memory. This dissertation will aim at giving an introduction of the existing conservation legislation of Hong Kong and from a brief case comparison with the conservation legislation in Macau and Singapore, one is not difficult to identify the limitations of our existing legislation and the areas for improvement.