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Legal battle over Hong Kong harbor
From Janine Graham
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Hong Kong's harbor is a major tourist attraction and is seen by many as the city's defining image. But now the waterway, known officially as Victoria Harbour, is at the center of a fierce legal battle. Among those defending the harbor in its current form is 85-year-old retired judge Simon Li. He's been riding the famous star ferry that crosses the harbor since childhood and has seen it change a lot. "First of all, the journey used to last about 10-15 minutes and the harbor was calmer than what it is now," he says. "Today, the trip only takes about five minutes -- and it's a shorter and rockier journey all because the harbor is getting narrower." On both sides of the harbor reclamation projects have turned up vast tracts of new land -- a way to accommodate the demand for new offices and housing. On Hong Kong island itself, most of the central business district used to be under water. Queen's Road, today a main thoroughfare lined by high-rise office blocks and shopping centers, was once just a rough path that ran along the original shoreline. Reclamation has consumed as much as half of the natural harbor and more is planned. Retired lawyer Winston Chu is on the warpath against reclamation in a battle that's already reached the courts. "If they continue with their proposed reclamation, another five square miles, the harbor will become a river," he says. 'Bank robbery'
Chu, who heads up the Society for the Protection of the Harbour, is seeking an injunction to stop the government from dumping more sand into its waters. Despite a court ruling in July that found officials were breaking their own harbor protection laws, the work continued until the decision two days ago to suspend dredging and the laying of pilings for one week. "It's like this," says Chu. "Other places you have the police stopping bank robbery -- but in Hong Kong we the Hong Kong citizens have got to stop the police from robbing the bank." Government officials declined offers to comment directly to CNN. They deny they are breaking the law and argue that as roads get more congested, extra land is essential and to stop now would waste millions of dollars. Now, battling recession and seeking a post-SARS tourism boost, Hong Kong wants to enhance its image abroad -- bringing in rock bands like the Rolling Stones and offering to host events such as next year's World Trade Organisation meetings. Critics of the government, such as Christine Loh of the pressure group Civic Exchange, say the harbor is an image that defines Hong Kong -- one officials should be pitching, not picking away at. "You can go and maybe say to the Swiss that you've just discovered gold on the Matterhorn -- oh, well why don't we just chip a bit of it off," argues Loh. Courts are due to decide next Friday whether the government can continue its reclamation work until the case is heard in Hong Kong's top court in December. Like Simon Li's ferry trip, it may be a rocky ride.
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