7/26/2019 FullText (6)

1/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

2/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

3/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

4/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

5/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

6/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

7/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

8/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

9/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

10/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

11/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

12/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

13/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

14/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

15/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

16/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

17/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

18/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

19/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

20/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

21/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

22/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

23/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

24/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

25/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

26/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

27/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

28/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

29/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

30/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

31/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

32/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

33/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

34/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

35/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

36/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

37/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

38/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

39/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

40/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

41/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

42/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

43/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

44/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

45/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

46/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

47/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

48/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

49/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

50/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

51/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

52/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

53/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

54/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

55/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

56/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

57/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

58/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

59/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

60/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

61/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

62/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

63/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

64/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

65/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

66/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

67/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

68/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

69/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

70/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

71/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

72/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

73/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

74/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

75/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

76/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

77/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

78/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

79/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

80/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

81/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

82/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

83/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

84/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

85/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

86/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

87/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

88/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

89/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

90/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

91/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

92/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

93/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

94/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

95/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

96/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

97/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

98/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

99/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

100/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

101/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

102/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

103/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

104/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

105/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

106/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

107/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

108/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

109/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

110/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

111/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

112/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

113/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

114/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

115/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

116/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

117/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

118/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

119/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

120/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

121/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

122/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

123/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

124/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

125/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

126/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

127/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

128/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

129/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

130/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

131/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

132/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

133/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

134/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

135/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

136/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

137/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

138/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

139/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

140/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

141/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

142/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

143/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

144/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

145/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

146/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

147/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

148/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

149/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

150/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

151/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

152/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

153/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

154/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

155/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

156/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

157/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

158/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

159/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

160/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

161/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

162/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

163/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

164/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

165/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

166/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

167/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

168/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

169/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

170/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

171/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

172/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

173/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

174/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

175/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

176/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

177/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

178/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

179/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

180/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

181/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

182/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

183/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

184/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

185/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

186/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

187/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

188/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

189/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

190/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

191/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

192/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

193/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

194/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

195/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

196/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

197/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

198/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

199/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

200/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

201/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

202/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

203/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

204/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

205/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

206/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

207/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

208/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

209/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

210/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

211/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

212/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

213/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

214/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

215/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

216/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

217/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

218/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

219/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

220/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

221/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

222/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

223/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

224/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

225/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

226/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

227/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

228/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

229/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

230/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

231/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

232/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

233/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

234/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

235/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

236/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

237/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

238/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

239/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

240/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

241/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

242/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

243/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

244/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

245/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

246/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

247/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

248/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

249/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

250/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

251/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

252/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

253/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

254/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

255/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

256/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

257/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

258/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

259/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

260/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

261/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

262/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

263/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

264/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

265/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

266/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

267/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

268/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

269/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

270/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

271/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

272/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

273/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

274/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

275/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

276/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

277/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

278/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

279/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

280/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

281/438

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

282/438

261

CHAPTER 5

EMBEDDED COLONIALITY IN

THE FLOWER MAREKT:

THE CASE OF HERITAGE PRESERVATION

AND REVITALISATION

Is the new plan just for the purposes of flower selling? Why should the URA decide

the local characteristics of this district?

(A forum participant of URAs Mong Kok Flower Market preservation project)

5.1 Chapter Introduction

Due to keen global competition, cities increasingly value their local culture

as a source of competitive advantage in city branding practices. Many cities,

including Hong Kong, are currently facing an intense interest in cultural heritage.

Heritage conservation 79 is seemingly irreconcilable with development or

modernisation. At the same time, world-wide agencies, such as United Nations

Educational and Scientific Organisation 80 (UNESCO) and the World Bank 81 are

79 Heritage preservation or conservation is very a common way to maintain local culturalcharacteristics. It is worthwhile to differentiate the terms conservation and preservation toclarify different concepts and the underlying understanding of governments work. According tothe Burra Charter , conservation refers to all the processes of looking after a place so as toretain its value or cultural significance, whereas preservation applies to a situation where a

place is kept in its existing state with a minimum level of interference except to prevent or retarddeterioration (Australia ICOMOS).80 UNESCOs mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty,sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture,communication and information.http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/ 81

For example, Michael M. Cernea, a Research Professor of Anthropology at GeorgeWashington University and former World Bank senior director for Social Policy and Sociology,argues that the World Bank as an international development agency has paid more attention to

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

283/438

262

actively involved in the promotion and retention of cultural heritage within the

region. Heritage preservation could be a way to improve economic performance

and to embrace local culture. The government commissioned the URA to

conduct a preservation-cum-revitalisation project in the Mong Kok Flower

Market. However, the major problem mentioned by residents, florists and

passers-by remains unsolved: heritage preservation and revitalisation conducted

by the government over-emphasises the architectural value of buildings, and

neglects to pay enough attention to local people, their culture and way of life.

Evidence shows that coloniality is embedded in this process because planning

decisions are made from the top down, relying on assumptions and values long

held by the colonial government. Limited consultation was held with the local

residents. My research found that the Planning Department, the executive arm of

the TPB, twisted the district councillors negative comments about the URA plan

in the TPBs report in order to facilitate the process of heritage preservation. This

chapter mainly argues that the traditional consultation procedure on planning for

the area did not give enough voice to businessmen and residents being affected

by the governments plan. Embedded coloniality is hidden in the structure of this

heritage preservation-cum-revitalisation process. I want to argue that what is

necessary in this situation is to respect peoples voices and to empower them to

do the planning in a participatory manner, which is part of the overall process of

decolonisation and democratisation.

social development and the value of culture in its policies and projects. He argues that everystage in the World Banks project cycle engages a different set of socio-cultural variables andissues that must be addressed, there are values, attitudes and expectations to be known and takeninto account. And that at every such stage of the project cycle, a good social specialists wouldhave specific, and distinct, functional tasks to perform (Cernea 8). He argues for providing

financial investment support to the cultural sector itself and at integrating it with economysmainstream sectors, particularly financial support for better management of a countrys culturalendowments and physical cultural patrimony ( ibid 16).

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

284/438

263

At the same time, the manipulation of culture, and the simplification of

local culture by mainstream discourse of neoliberal developmentalism goes

against what culture should be in accordance with the UNESCO definition,

which refers to the whole complex of distinctive, spiritual, material, intellectual

and emotional features that characterise a society or social group. It includes not

only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the

human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs (United Nation Educational,

Scientific and Conservation Organisation). This comprehensive redefinition of

culture is a product of post-World War Two democratisation processes, when

anti-colonial movements transform ex-colonies into new nations leading to the

rethinking of what culture is for the ex-colonisers and ex-colonised, the rise of

civil rights movements that question dominant ideologies, the democratisation of

education through open universities etcetera, together, brought about the

inclusion of the culture of everyday life as part of the understanding of culture

(Williams b 3). Ironically, unlike this recent democratisation of the concept of

culture, the present transformation of culture in the age of neoliberal

development in Hong Kong goes interestingly in the opposite direction:

following the trajectory of the Chinese definition of cultivation as being

real-estate focused, we now see a transformation of culture into what Alice Poon

has described as a collusion between government and the property cartel (Poon

14). While the governments gesture of preserving cultural heritage enhances

capital flow, it rarely considers preserving the culture of ordinary people, and to

provide a chance for others to rediscover the diversified values of everyday life

culture. In contrast, the government preserves architectural heritage in the name

of a culture of enhanced capital flow.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

285/438

264

5.2 Heritage from Below

Allowing and supporting the agency of local people to offer their own

history a chance is the latest trend in heritage studies. In other words, buildings

of ordinary people should be treasured for their social value. David C. Harvey

argues that the history of heritage tends to inevitably focus upon the larger

identity politics of heritage control at an official level. However, Harvey reminds

us that we should not neglect the importance of personal and local heritage, or

what he called small heritage 82 (Harvey 20). This means that heritage

preservation is not just about grand narratives, and that buildings of ordinary

people have their own value and should be preserved. Heritage preservation

could therefore be treated as a chance to review how different stakeholders

interpret heritage differently. According to Holtorf cited in Harvey, Holtorf ( ibid

20) argues that heritage is often a vehicle, rather than merely a site, where

cultural memory and various phenomena of cultural history reside. Cultural

memory comprises the collective understanding of the past as they are held by a

people in any given social and historical context ( ibid 21). Ideas of cultural

memory are, therefore, laden with politics and power relationships as statements

about the past become meaningful through becoming embedded within the

cultural and material context of a particular time. Harvey further argues that the

sense of purpose with which people remember the past serves to underline the

importance of understanding how people situate themselves with respect to the

future. In this respect, heritage may be understood in terms of a prospective

memory, as tokens that represent a desired future. Heritage provides a sense of

82 Although some judgments might be associated with the terminology small heritage, smallin this case refers to heritage of ordinary people and is opposed to big heritage, that is, the

heritage of the elites; but it does not mean it is insignificant. The value of personal and localheritage also tells the history of the building, the class of the people, the place and the culturalmemory that will be discussed in the next paragraph.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

286/438

265

purpose, and this purpose changes over time. Harvey further argues that the

history of heritage is a history of the present, or a historical narrative of endless

succession of presents, in which the heritage can have no terminal point. The

recognition of heritage as malleable, present-centred and future-oriented appears

to be the central issue in Harveys project. Harvey attempts to sketch a historical

narrative of how the heritage process has been deployed, articulated and

consumed through time 83. He quotes from Holtorf:

all archaeologists theory for understanding megalithic monuments can be

read as theories about different prospective memories prospective

memories for the future that draw upon a reservoir of symbolic capital (or

heritage) from the past ( ibid 23).

In other words, different archaeologists view heritage differently according

to the values of their particular period of time, yet most of the heritage preserved

belonged to the elites. Cultural memory is important in shaping the intangible

value of a place. Harvey further argues that despite George Orwells 84 statement

that history is produced by the winners in society in order to support their moral,

political and economic authority, heritage conservation or preservation today

often appears to be led by the losers in society. It appears that greater cogency

and value has been given to the heritage of those who have been deprived of

agency, who are the downtrodden, the exploited and the defeated. It implies that

83 Harvey uses an example of Avebury in England to explain the important transitions in howofficial heritage is carried out, from obsession over site, or over art factual integrity, to viewingemotion and embodied practice as legitimate and valuable vehicles through which the historycultures is practiced. At the same time, developments and control of technology went hand inhand with developments over how heritage was produced and consumed. Harvey describes that

there were great changes in the politics of production and consumption, engaging with questionsof access to the means to promote, display and enjoy heritage.84 George Orwell (1903-1950) is an English novelist and journalist.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

287/438

266

the agency of ordinary people is being treasured. As a result, people start to

celebrate small heritage, where resistance to the official order is necessary.

Harvey argues that heritage is used in

the promotion of a consensus version of history by state-sanctioned cultural

institutions and elites to regulate cultural and social tensions in the present.

On the other hand, heritage may also be a resource that is used to challenge

and redefine received values and identities by a range of subaltern groups

(ibid 33).

In other words, heritage is a cultural resource that allows us to revisit and

redefine our existing values and identities. Harveys usage of the subaltern

group refers to underprivileged people, associated with Spivaks concept of the

subaltern. In this light, preservation of small heritage means that the

government recognises quotidian culture and value the importance of everyday

life.

Tong Lau ( ) is Hong Kongs version of heritage from below. Tong

Lau could be called a tenement house, a shophouse or a verandah-type

shophouse. As described by Lee Ho Yin, a heritage conservation specialist

practicing in Hong Kong,

Tong Lau belongs to the generic urban shophouse typology found in

predominantly Chinese cities in Southern China and Southeast Asia, such as

Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Macao, Singapore and Penang. It is a typology

that has infused with material, construction and living traditions of Southern

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

288/438

267

Chinese in 19th-century urban centres, particularly towns and cities in

Guangdong and Fujian provinces. The prototype of this typology is the 19th

century urban shophouse of Southern China. Tong Lau in Hong Kong

has been referred to as tenement house. (It is) in response to the

critical shortage of living quarters to accommodate the rising population.

Such a situation became more severe from the 1930s to the 1960s, when

mass influx of refugees escaping from war and political turmoil in mainland

China arrived in Hong Kong. The introduction of a public housing policy

and the construction of large-scale public housing estates that began in the

1950s eventually alleviated the tenement housing problem in Tong Lau to a

large degree (Lee Ho Yin 1).

Tong Lau consists of a row of four attached house units, each of which

consists of a shop on the ground floor and residential quarters on upper floors.

The characteristic form of the shophouse reflects a number of influencing factors:

from exposure to Western architectural aesthetics in a British colony, to local

building regulations, high land and property prices, and an ever-increasing

population. All these factors contribute to the characteristics of the narrow width

of the shophouse, typically of 13-16 feet, employing a Chinese-style column for

the floor and roof beams (University of Hong Kong, Department of Architecture

3). According to Hong Kongs Building Regulations, a building that is used for

tenement housing refers to any building in the domestic part of which any living

room is intended or adapted for the use of more than one tenant or sub-tenant. In

this regulation, living room means any room intended or adapted as a place for

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

289/438

268

cooking or sleeping 85 . The occurrence of small heritage refers to the

celebration of diversity and the multi-cultural qualities of a place. Some Tong

Lau buildings in the vicinity of the flower market are preserved by the URA and

will be illustrated shortly after the discussion on culture and heritage.

5.3 Culture and Heritage

Culture and heritage are highly interlinked, and when preserving a heritage,

its culture and social context should also be preserved. A government could

embrace local culture in a well-designed heritage preservation project. Ron Van

Oers, Programme Specialist for Culture for UNESCO in the World Heritage

Centre, provides another angle on preserving urban historical landscape. He

argues that in the case of threats to the values and integrity of historic urban

landscapes, and as opposed to uncontrolled urban development or large-scale

planned development, a clear emphasis on targeted urban regeneration projects

that use the projects locations in or around the heritage site to attract attention,

investment and visitors might create negative effects. He has argued that there is

nothing wrong with this situation, as long as the sites are not jeopardised or

destroyed in the process of urban regeneration (van Oers 44). Nonetheless, in the

example of Hong Kongs urban regeneration, the flow of tourists and

investments on a scale and nature inappropriate to the context, ironically in the

name of preservation, intensifies the destruction of the urban fabric and social

life of the local people.

Van Oers argues that heritage preservation allows people to revisit the

85 This definition is written in Hong Kong Law Chapter 123F Building (Planning) Regulations,Section 46 called Tenement House.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

290/438

269

importance of the city. In this sense, it is the community and lifestyle that should

be studied and revisited. It ought to be a way to recognise the value of the whole

community first, before thinking of what can be preserved. Also, conservationists

should think of how the local community could adapt to the intervention of

heritage preservation (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Development

Bureau b). In this sense, Van Oers urges people to revisit local culture first,

before thinking of what to be preserved and how. However, how to involve the

community and to incorporate local knowledge into the plan is the key issue for

a holistic approach to heritage preservation. I argue that heritage preservation

should not only stand at the management level, but that we must think further of

how consensus could be reached among different parties in the community. In

Section 5.9, I will challenge the validity of the public consultation in the heritage

preservation process in the flower market, and examine how the government

might not be able to fully address the needs of ordinary people. At the same time,

the traditional role of consultation by the DC has loopholes because, as shown in

the flower market preservation project, the district councillors opinion was

distorted during the discussion process. The role of public consultation through

the DC is questionable. In this light, a limited role for public consultation

contributes to the destruction of the culture of the place to a certain degree

because there is limited public voices and contribution, not to mention the lack

of community consensus (More discussion will be held in Section 5.9.2). The

conservation and development procedures seem to be very sophisticated, but

they could not incorporate the voices of ordinary people. More investigation is

conducted in the following sections on heritage preservation in the flower

market.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

291/438

270

Celebrating vernacular culture could be a way to embrace local identity and

to improve the living conditions of local people through a creative re-use of the

heritage buildings. Chang and Teo argue that

[t]he vernacular is important as it speaks of the socioeconomic history of a

city, provides the requisite urban colour and charm and, as we have seen in

Singapore, an outlet for the creative expression of local identity. However,

the vernacular is a dynamic concept, evolving over time and across space,

and possessing different meanings across different social groups We

have argued that heritages and traditions are inherently unstable and are

always creatively reworked, reused and contested in multiple ways. The

process of creative destruction is inevitable in creative cities. Landscape

and land uses will always give way to new ones, or be transformed in

different and surprising manners to cater to emerging needs, lifestyles and

people ... Amidst this turbulence, we must keep in mind a number of

questions if we are to treasure quality of life and liveability, instead of

only focusing on quality of place and aesthetics. For example, questions

like: who is allowed access into the new spaces of creativity shaped by and

for members of the creative class? How do tourists and local people benefit

equitably from the development of creative urban quarters? And how are

local customs, traditions and communities adapted in the evolving city, and

for whom? It is these questions that must inform planners, researchers and

commentators if we are to create and develop cities that are inclusionary

and democratic (Chang, and Teo 363-364).

Chang and Teos understanding on vernacular heritage admits that there is a

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

292/438

271

process of creative destruction in changing heritage landscapes and adapting it

to contemporary use. However, Chang and Teo assert that heritage and

development do not counter each other, but are in a complementary relationship.

It should improve peoples lives through a more inclusive and democratic

manner, because preservation of a vernacular building directly affects ordinary

peoples culture. Good heritage preservation practices should embrace local

culture and become a platform for the celebration of diverse local cultural

identities.

5.4 Polemical Relations of Development and

Conservation in Hong Kong

Developmentalism in Hong Kong is so extreme that even a seemingly

unpolitical terrain, such as flower cultivation and heritage preservation of

Chinese buildings, becomes a favourable condition for local land developers to

expand their business interests, but at the cost of suppressing local culture and

socio-economic needs of ordinary people. In the context of Hong Kong,

development and conservation have a polemical relationship. Donald Tsang Yam

Kuen, the Chief Executive (CE) of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

between 2005 and 2012, offers an official version of this paradoxical relationship between development and conservation. Tsang argues:

Hong Kong never stands still. We invest heavily in infrastructure to

modernise our city, improve the living environment, to maintain our global

competitiveness and most important, to create jobs. But, there comes a time

during the course of a citys development and evolution when we need to

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

293/438

272

stop and ask: Have we gone too far? Have we done too much? Have

we lost some part of the soul of our city? A progressive city treasures its

own culture and history along with its unique character and living

experience. In recent years there have been higher public expectations on

the Government to preserve our built heritage. This has made us think hard

about how we can best balance the development needs of a modern

metropolis such as Hong Kong with the demands - and need - to conserve

our heritage Hong Kong is a dynamic city, and it has always been my

view that historic buildings here should not be just preserved as if they were

antiquities or a museum exhibit. We believe they should be given a new

lease of life which will benefit the public. In 2008 we launched the

Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme. This allows

non-profit-making organisations to submit proposals for the adaptive re-use

of Government-owned historic buildings in the mode of social enterprise,

and to transform these historic buildings into unique cultural landmarks

(Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Information Services

Department h).

Tsangs view of development and conservation implies the assumption that

the government treasures economic development and job creation. Even for

heritage preservation, architectural preservation is emphasised. Engaging with

the history of a place and the life of ordinary people is not a focus for the

government. Even in heritage conservation, the economic value of using heritage

buildings to operate in a viable way according to the market is the main concern

for preservation from the governments perspective. As demonstrated in Section

5.11.2, I will explain how the government provides economic incentive to land

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

294/438

273

developers to help in heritage preservation in the name of encouraging the

society to have financial viable heritage preservation. In contrast to Hong Kongs

operational logic of developmentalism, according to Some Notes on the

Preservation of Cultural Heritage in a Globalised World prepared by UNESCO,

society must accept the fact that not everything is excavatable, accessible or

marketable, and that the non-consumable dimensions of a historic site are to be

respected. In this way, preservation also means limitation. Cultural heritage has a

right to be protected from the superficially-levelling clutches of the tourism

industry, and to be protected from a sight-seeing culture. Also, a forced

restoration approach invariably means a loss of substance and damage. It is

important to re-emphasise here the fundamental principle of the Charter of

Venice, which stresses the point that preservation of cultural heritage is of

primarily importance and requires continuous care. Practice-oriented strategies

for monitoring, maintaining and sustaining care do not yet exist and constitute

one of the most important tasks for the future (Bacher 9). The contrasting

understanding of development and heritage conservation implies the government

pays little attention to the culture of local places and ordinary people, but instead

focuses on economic development which neglects the need for a decolonising

process in society. Rather, it operates according to the logic of the British

colonisers who sought to develop the society continuously in terms of economic

progress. My research challenges this operational logic restricted to the

economic viability of heritage buildings by providing a detailed analysis of the

Mong Kok Flower Market. As demonstrated in Chapter 2, the flower market is a

culturally rich site that many local people rely on, in contrast to the official

heritage preservation plan with its notion of architectural heritage preservation

that over-simplifies the culture of the place. As a result, renovating means

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

295/438

274

beautifying the area and increasing the value of property, and thus making it

harder for businesses to operate in the market.

5.5 The Conservation Arguments for Flower Trading

Heritage

As described in the above paragraph, culture and heritage are highly

interlinked. Therefore, when the government preserves Tong Lau buildings in the

Mong Kok Flower Market, the government should also preserve its culture and

social context, and treat the preservation project as a chance to enhance the

physical and business environment of all people living and working in the area.

Therefore, the next section will identify the reasons supporting the conservation

of flower trading heritage along with the flower market, and it aims to contrast

the governments current practice of heritage preservation.

1. Long History of Flower Trading

As explained in Chapter 2, flower trading has a long history in this area of

Hong Kong. Because of the organic formation of the market involving primarily

working class people, no official record could be found about the establishment

of the market. Nevertheless, various sources indicate that the flower market has

been established in the 1890s 86. The original Mong Kok Flower Market was

located at Boundary Street, on the boundary between Kowloon peninsula and the

NT before 1898. The market had moved several times because of squatter fire

(Section 2.9.2), first to an area outside of Fa Hui Park (Section 2.9.3), then into

the Fa Hui Park volleyball court (Section 2.9.4), and then to the Flower Market

86 The sources that indicate that the market has been established in the 1890s include: Ng Ho 76;Leung To 50; Yi 179 as described in Section 2.7.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

296/438

275

Road location at present (Section 2.9.5). As can be seen by choice of locations

around the Boundary Street area, situating at the market in Mong Kok is of the

utmost importance. The place demarcates the development of flower growing

and the flower industry as an intact, vibrant and organic industrial cluster.

2. The Flower Market as a Cultural Resource

The Mong Kok Flower Market supports many local businesses that embrace

quotidian activities. Not only imported flower wholesalers are located in the

market, but other related flower vendors, such as stores selling accessories and

bouquets, wrapping papers, vases, glasses and plastic flowers are located on the

ground floor. The flower market is full of people who are buying flowers or who

want to just wander around and enjoy the beauty of flowers. At the same time,

flower arrangement schools have been set up in the vicinity of the flower market,

which embrace a range of cultural activities. Stores that are related to the flower

industry, such as selling organic farm produce, are located on second floors of

the commercial buildings in the market. Upper floors might also rent space for

storage purposes. Therefore, the flower market is a place that embraces many

cultural activities and small businesses.

3. Flower Market is a Distinctive Landmark and a Source of Local

Identity

The flower market is a distinctive landmark that is often visited by political

figures, such as Bill Clinton, the former U.S. president, and Leung Chun Ying,

the candidate in the 2012 CE election and the winner of the election, went to the

market to buy flowers as a way to share local culture of ordinary Hong Kong

people (Button; Politics). Clinton also attempted to enjoy local culture and to

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

297/438

276

make a friendly gesture, as he greeted residents along the way (Button).

Politicians visits imply that the flower market is a distinctive landmark showing

how the place is full of local qualities. At the same time, some parts of the flower

market are located in Tong Lau buildings. In fact, the longest remaining row of

Tong Lau in Hong Kong is in the market. The preservation of these special

buildings allows future generations to understand how people lived in the past.

4. Tong Lau as a Mixture of Residential and Cultural Industries Usage

Tong Lau , or Chinese shophouses, generally comprises a grassroot space.

Therefore this kind of building has been conducive to the organic growth of

grassroots communities and ways of life. The unique cultural value and artistic

importance of Tong Lau can be seen in the way the film industry has set so many

film about Hong Kong in these buildings 87. The Tong Lau form has made a

valuable contribution to the success of the film industry in Hong Kong since the

mid-1950s. Some film production offices remain in the vicinity until now. Woo

Yu Sen (know as John Woo for English speaking audiences) 88 and Chan Gor

(know as Fruit Chan for English speaking audiences) 89 set up their offices in the

URAs planned area for heritage preservation (Town Planning Board b 90). At the

same time, the flower market is not restricted to flower trading only. Many

87 Many of which are either award-winning films (such as the Hong Kong Film Awards) or box-office successes in Hong Kong, Asia and even North America. For instance, Cinema CityEnterprises Ltd, a film studio jointly managed by Mak Kar, Shek Dean and Wong Bak Ming, wasone of the leading production houses in the 1980s, and produced films such as A BetterTomorrow . Cinema City ceased production in the early 1990s, but it remains historically as oneof the most influential film studios in Hong Kong.88 John Wu Yu Sen is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. His direction in A BetterTomorrow earned him the Best Picture of Hong Kong Film Award in 1986.89 Fruit Chan Gor is an independent Second Wave screenwriter, filmmaker and producer based inHong Kong. He is an award-winning director, honoured by the Hong Kong Film Awards and theGolden Horse Awards.90

Transcription of 946th

Meeting of the TPB held on 30/10/2009. The meeting was conducted inCantonese. I did the translation of relevant transcription. The whole audio tape could be found inTPBs webpage (Town Planning Board b).

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

298/438

277

residential buildings are in the vicinity of the flower market. As a result of this

dynamic mixture, the district can be seen as offering an incredible diversity.

However, some residents complain about street obstruction and unhygienic

conditions caused by the florists daily operations. However, are not these

problems a matter of flower trading itself, or the governments inability to

facilitate a dedicated wholesale market as described in Chapter 4? How can

heritage preservation alone resolve the struggles between the flower industry and

residents?

To summarise, heritage conservation should engage with the history and

culture of a place and aim to preserve and value local characteristics through

understanding how and why people use the space. It is a way to recognise the

agency and subjectivity of the local people. In this sense, improvement of the

area should begin with addressing the social relations and transformations.

Preservation strategies should involve a comprehensive planning for the future of

the flower market. Both physical landscape and social context should be

preserved because the vitality of the place lies not only in the remarkable

architecture, but also in the inimitable sociality of the place. The following

section further explores the official version of preservation practices as to

understand the governmentality of heritage preservation.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

299/438

278

5.6 Heritage Conservation and Urban Development

by the Urban Renewal Authority

Heritage conservation in Hong Kong was originally directed by the AAB

and the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) 91. However, as early as 1999,

the first CE Tung Chee Hwa announced in his policy address the importance of

heritage preservation:

It is important to rehabilitate and preserve unique buildings as this not onlyaccords with our objective of sustainable development, but also facilitates

the retention of the inherent characteristics of different districts, and helps

promote tourism. The concept of preserving heritage should be incorporated

into all projects for redeveloping old areas (Hong Kong Special

Administrative Region, Chief Executive a para 133).

In other words, by 1999 the government was encouraging heritage

preservation as another form of urban renewal and embracing local

characteristics in order to develop tourist attractions. The cultural value of

heritage and how the government should design sites is absent from such policy

addresses. After that, no further official discussion of heritage preservation onthe architecture of ordinary people appears until 2003, when the Culture and

Heritage Commission issued a Policy Recommendation Report. The report

91 The AAB is a statutory body set up under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance in 1976to advise the Antiquities Authority on the matters relating to antiquities and monuments. Underthe Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap 53) , the [Antiquities] Authority may, afterconsultation with the AAB and with the approval of the CE, declare any place, building, site or

structure, which the [Antiquities] Authority considers to be of public interest by reason of itshistorical, archaeological or paleontological site or structure (Antiquities and MonumentsOrdinance (Cap. 53), Section 3(1)).

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

300/438

279

argues that heritage should be an important consideration in urban planning, and

it recommends that government departments and the URA should consider how

to preserve the cultural landscape in both planning of new towns and the

redevelopment of urban areas. After several heritage preservation movements in

Hong Kong, including Lee Tung Street Social Movement between 2003 and

2007 92, Star Ferry Pier Social Movement in 2006 93 and Queens Pier Social

Movement in 2007 94 , the series of struggles demonstrate that the society

generally launches a resistance identity in opposition to government imposed

heritage developments, following the awareness of local cultural identity politics

popularized by the listed social movements. Some people commented that those

development projects were bulldoser-form slash and burn developments, giving

up the local culture in exchange for economic development. As a result, there

was sentiment and resistance towards the governments decision making process

that usually lacks local participation. In this light, those previous movements are

92 The Lee Tung Street social movement occurred between 2003 and 2007. Lee Tung Street inWan Chai is also named Wedding Card Street. The original government plan was to demolishthe old buildings and to build three high-rise residential towers with four-storey podiumsreserved for shops and underground car park. Some residents and businessmen protested againstthe governments bulldoser planning and challenged the government against demolishing the

buildings without submitting the required documents justifying its redevelopment proposals. TheH15 Concern Group (a group of people who concerns for the development of Wan Chai, some ofthem living, working or doing business in Lee Tung Street) and a group of professionalssubmitted an alternative plan for Lee Tung Street to the government. The Hong Kong Institute ofPlanners has awarded a silver medal for the alternative plan but the government turned it down,and demolished the buildings in 2007 (Chan Felix City 4).93

Star Ferry Pier social movement occurred in 2006. The Star Ferry Pier in Central District wasdemolished as the government carried out the Central District Reclamation Phase III as a provision of land for transport infrastructures, such as the Central-Wan Chai Bypass and P2 Roadnetwork, the Airport Railway Extended Overrun Tunnel and the North Hong Kong Island Line.On 11 November, 2006, thousands of people gathered around at the Star Ferry Pier in CentralDistrict, some of them were taking photos and some were treasuring their final opportunity tocollectively remember the pier. A few days later, on 19 November 2006, groups of protestersconcerned over the dismantlement of the Star Ferry Pier sat quietly outside the closed piershowing their dissatisfaction. Their actions escalated in December 2006 with a series of protests.Some people even barged into the closed pier and occupied it in order to restrict or delay theschedule to demolish the pier. Although people began to realise the importance of the culturalheritage, the pier was finally dismantled in 15 December 2006 (Tang 1).94 Queens Pier social movement occurred in 2007. The Queens Pier in Central was demolished

because the government carried out the Central Reclamation Phase III. Some activists attemptedto save the Queens Pier and filed for a judicial review on 7 August 2007, but the court dismissedthe request. The Queens Pier was completely demolished in February 2008 ( ibid ).

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

301/438

280

a kind of resistance to the dominant hegemonic policy-making process. The

lack of public engagement and participation in different social processes led to

the generation of resistance identity (Fung 50). At the same time, as Fung Wing

Hang, an urban planning student, argues, the series of social movements allow

more citizens in Hong Kong to raise concern about peoples livelihood, cultural

and social activities in Hong Kong, which is not limited to family or personal

interests. Hong Kong people try to safeguard what is important to them. For

instance, the Star Ferry Pier and Queens Pier instances in 2006, protestors

requested to preserve the Piers and respect the history and culture of Hong Kong

(K.-F. Chan, 2007, ibid ). Besides, past demolitions of historical landmarks

including the Lee Theatre, the former General Post Office, the old Hong Kong

Club and Repulse Bay Hotel and the former Kowloon-Canton Railway Station

have provided a growing community awareness of the cost of losing the past,

and a growing desire to strengthen Hong Kongs unique character and identity.

The growing resistance identity is an opposition to the dominant hegemonic

governance and the seeking of new projected identity due to the change in

political structure ( ibid ).

Fungs understanding suggests that Hong Kong people is going through a

cultural turn against what used to be mainstream Hong Kongs well-accepted

logic of economic development at all cost. More people request that the

government respect Hong Kongs history and culture as a way to strengthen their

own identity. This awareness causes people to reflect and question themselves

and the government on whether the usual, destructive colonial pattern of

development should continue in the postcolonial era. Kwan Chun Wing, a

geography student, coined the Star Ferry Pier and Queens Pier social movement

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

302/438

281

campaigns as the Two Pier Incident, and argues that the incident helped to

change peoples values on heritage preservation. Kwan argues,

[t]he Hong Kong Government adheres to a pro-development mentality and

regards conservation as anti-development. It has long held a presumption

that development is necessarily a good thing; and priority is always given to

it (Kwan 4) Nowadays, many of the locally-born residents do not value

development as much as their government does. They have now placed a

greater importance on their quality of life, focusing more on the citys

history, culture, heritage and environment, than Central District values

( 95) and material gains. They are willing to give way to

practical needs for heritage preservation The residents are now more

actively participating in issues pertaining to environment and heritage, as

manifested in the campaign to protect the citys two important pieces of

heritage (Kwan 5).

Kwan also argues that the Two Pier Incident embraces the rising

aspirations for democracy and a social inclusive participation in policy. He

explains,

[t]he post-colonial Hong Kong Government continues to rely on the

advisory and statutory bodies in collecting and reflecting public opinions. It

still limits the participation of the general public in decision-making

processes. With a growing sense of communal spirit and local

95

Central District values refers to the emphasis on development, efficiency and economicvalues which are prevailing in Hong Kong. This terminology was coined by Lung Ying Tai in2006 (Lung 21-22).

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

303/438

282

consciousness, the general public are more enthusiastic about participating

in governments decision-making and want a real participatory democracy.

Many rising middle class people and youngsters demand a wider scope of

democracy not only in election but also in planning and decision-making

process. They want their views be directly articulated to the government

They were in demand of planning with people and a greater degree of

participation in the planning process of government policies. By

empowering themselves to plan their community, the rising middle class

and young generation envision that the city environment could be greatly

improved ( ibid 5-7).

The communitys awareness of heritage preservation and local identity alert

the government about the change of values on heritage preservation. On 25

September 2007, the CE made a policy statement as a response to the changing

views of the public on heritage preservation. Tsang Yam Kuen Donald, CE of

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said

[to] protect, conserve and revitalise as appropriate historical and heritage

sites and buildings through relevant and sustainable approaches for the

benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. In implementing

this policy, due regard should be given to development needs in the public

interest, respects for private property rights, budgetary considerations,

cross-sector collaboration and active engagement of stakeholders and the

general public (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Legislative

Council g 1).

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

304/438

283

The government has decided for the time being to develop a general policy

direction rather than pursue a legislative route to enhance heritage conservation.

The government promised to implement a range of initiatives on heritage

conservation ( ibid 1-2). In the 2007 Policy Address, the government invited

URA to extend its conservation work to cover pre-war shophouses 96. The Urban

Renewal Authority Ordinance (URAO) empowers the URA to acquire or hold

land for development and to alter, construct, demolish, maintain, repair,

preserve or restore the building, premises or structure 97. The CE says,

[i]n my view, revitalisation, rather than preservation alone, should be

pursued to maximise the economic and social benefits of historic buildings.

This is in line with the concept of sustainable conservation. The URA has

done a great deal to preserve and revitalise historic buildings. I call on the

URA to extend the scope of historic building protection to cover pre-war

buildings. In so doing, it is necessary for the URA to consider not just

preservation but also ways of revitalisation (Hong Kong Special

Administrative Region, Chief Executive b para 51-52).

CEs policy direction, and the empowerment of the URA to implement

heritage preservation projects, implies a direct response to the series

people-driven preservation campaigns demanding the preservation of local

identity. Therefore, an examination of the URAs heritage preservation projects

requires an understanding of how the government responds to peoples request

for preserving local culture. It underlies the importance of investigating the

96 Pre-war shophouses refer to Tong Lau .97 Section 29 and 6(1)(e), URAO (Cap. 563).

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

305/438

284

heritage preservation project in the Mong Kong Flower Market conducted by

URA since 2008.

At the same time, the CEs speech implies that economic viability in

heritage preservation is the governments major, if not only concern. Therefore,

regardless of what kind of heritage is preserved, heritage financial

self-sustainability is important. However, I want to argue that too much emphasis

on economic viability would limit the local characteristics of the preserved

heritage, and would also limit the future use of heritage leading to cultural

homogenisation. Lyndel V. Prott 98 argues that uncontrolled development can lead

to intense homogenisation, such as the tourist infrastructures of international

hotel chains, fast food and fashion chains and tourist agencies, which would

decrease the uniqueness of each heritage experience whilst increasing sameness

(Prott 7). Globalisation has considerable potential for benefit, as increased tourist

numbers can generate increased income for the heritage sites concerned, and

indirectly through raising the economic base of the surrounding community.

However, a sound management plan should be made in order to protect the

heritage against the negative effects of tourism and ensures that the funds it

generates go directly to the protection of the heritage concerned. Protts findings

suggest that tourist and other high-end consumer culture could make use of

heritage to create revenue, but the heritage management team should formulate a

plan in order to avoid destroying the original culture and avoid irreversible

effects. This understanding is important for us to judge whether the URAs

proposal for the flower market is sustainable in all aspects, including the

98 Lyndel V. Prott is the Chief International Standards Division, Cultural Heritage Division of theUNESCO.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

306/438

285

economic, social, and historical.

5.7 The Urban Renewal Authority Heritage

Preservation Project for a Cultural-led Flower

Market

After receiving the CEs order for preserving local heritage in 2007, the

URA commissioned a consultancy study on 56 pre-war shophouses within or

near the area. The study identified ten shophouses along Prince Edward Road

West as having Outstanding Heritage Value 99 (the highest category according

to the shophouses under the consultancy study) and the buildings were classified

as Grade 2 historical buildings by the AAB 100 in 2009. The government intends

to carry out two projects in the Mong Kok Flower Market the heritage

preservation project and the revitalisation project.

The URA decided to implement Prince Edward Road West/Yuen Ngai Street

preservation and revitalisation project (MK/02) by way of a development

scheme 101 in accordance with section 25 of the URA Ordinance. URA proposed

99 The URA had commissioned a consultant team, on the advice of Tiong Kian Boon, an

experienced Malaysian conservation architect. The study looked into the need and feasibility of preserving the shophouses. The study was supervised by a Steering Committee chaired byProfessor David Lung. The study categorises the shophouses into four levels, taking intoconsideration their historical value, architectural merit, as well as cultural significance (UrbanRenewal Authority a).100 For a Grade 2 building AMO views that the buildings should be preserved in such a waywhich is commensurate with the merits of the buildings concerned. Demolition works or buildingworks such as alternation/renovation works which may affect the heritage value of the buildingare not encouraged. Other definitions of the Gradings of Historical Buildings include Grade 1,which refers to buildings of outstanding merit in which every effort should be made to preserveif possible. Grade 3 means buildings of some merit in which preservation in some form would

be desirable and alternative means could be considered if preservation is not practicable -Website of Antiquities and Monument Office (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,

Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Antiquities and Monuments Office b).101 The development scheme means that the URA has the right to decide what portion of the landis owned or leased by the URA, and about the acquisition of any land not owned or leased. It also

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

307/438

286

a culture-led preservation project aiming at preserving and revitalising ten

pre-war verandah-type shophouses of significant heritage value located at

Prince Edward Road West 102 (Figure 5.1 and 5.2).

Figure 5.1. Buildings (Modern Flat) along Prince Edward Road just before

Yuen Ngai Street in early 1930s (Source: HKRS 03-06-167)

contains an assessment by the URA, and how it is likely in effect of the implementation of thedevelopment scheme, including the how the existing residents are displaced, and how the futureresidents could be accommodated.102 These 10 shophouses were part of a single development which originally covered Nos.190-220A Prince Edward Road West. After the Second World War, the buildings were sold overtime to different owners and the shophouses at Nos. 206-208 and Nos. 214-220A weredemolished and redeveloped to three 15-storey residential blocks as currently witnessed on thesite. The remaining 10 shophouses at Nos. 190-204 and 210-212 Prince Edward Road West,

which are the subject of the Development Scheme, form a unique cluster with a uniform faadeof one building typology along Prince Edward Road West and is the largest cluster of this type ofshophouses in the urban area.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

308/438

287

Figure 5.2. Contemporary verandah-type shophouses before the Urban

Renewal Authoritys preservation plan

(Source: The Urban Renewal Authority b)

The boundary of the development scheme plan 103 (DSP), which is shown in

the map (Map 7), covers a total area of about 1,440 m 2. It is located at the

junction of Prince Edward Road West and Yuen Ngai Street. The area is

separated by two buildings at Nos. 206-108 Prince Edward Road West, which are

both 15 storey buildings completed in 1966, and are in a relatively good physical

condition. These buildings are not included in the plan.

103 The Urban Renewal Authoritys DSP are special plans relating to the re-development of oldareas. These plans are considered by the TPB under the URA Ordinance, and if found suitable are

published under the Town Planning Ordinance for public comment. Each DSP includes a Land

Use Diagram and a set of Notes. A Land Use Diagram indicates broadly the types of planned usesand form of development; the Notes set out the permitted uses and the requirements forsubmitting a Master Layout Plan to the TPB (Loh 13).

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

309/438

288

Map 7. Urban Renewal Authority Prince Edward Road West/Yuen Ngai

Street development scheme plan with a highlight of shophouses

for commercial and/or cultural use (Source: TPB a)

The DSP involves 10 pre-war verandah type shophouses at Nos. 190-204,

and Nos. 210-212 Prince Edward Road West, for preservation and revitalisation

purposes (Urban Renewal Authority b). These 10 shophouses have been

accorded the highest Level 1 heritage rating because of their historical, cultural

and architectural significance indicated in the commissioned heritage report.

According to the report, the buildings were designed by a Belgian architect for a

Franco-Belgian construction firm and completed in the 1930s for wealthier and

better educated families (Figure 5.1). The buildings were occupied by the

Japanese army during the Second World War and used as governments

dormitory and warehouse after the war. The cluster is the longest row of pre-war

verandah-type shophouses in urban Hong Kong (Figure 5.2). The area was

mainly zoned Residential (Group A) (i.e. R(A)) 104 and partly shown as

104

Residential (Group A) R(A) zone is primarily for high-density residential developments.Commercial uses are always permitted on the lowest three floors of a building or in the purpose-designed non-residential portion of an existing building.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

310/438

289

Road (public footpath) before the exhibition of the Plan. On the DSP, the area is

zoned as Other Specified Uses (OU) annotated Shophouses for Commercial

and/or Cultural Uses.

In other words, the government attempts to pay more attention to heritage

buildings outside of elitist conceptions of value and including the heritage of

ordinary people. However, as shown in the evidence below, the governments

emphasis is mostly on preserving architectural buildings and neglects existing

community and social, economic life. In the governments argument, the history

of the building is foremost. The URA does not mention the history of the flower

market and how and why a particular architectural form was developed in

connection to the social and historical context. As a result, the local culture of the

people and the vibrant and existing flower industry has been ignored in this

articulation

The URAs explanation in their plan reveals their top-down understanding

of art and culture. The URA claims that they hope to preserve shophouses that

have witnessed the development of Hong Kongs architectural and cultural

landscape. Tong Lau represents a part of the history of the development of Hong

Kong and carries certain cultural significance in respective localities, making it

worthwhile to dedicate appropriate public resources as part of the overall urban

regeneration strategy of the URA. The URA initially proposed to reserve the

street level shops for selling flowers and the units upstairs for cultural and art

uses so as to develop a Cultural-art Flower Market (URA 1.3 Billion).

Cheung Chun Yuen Barry, the Chairman of the URA, said: The URA aims to

enhance this local feature with the retention of as many of the compatible

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

311/438

290

existing businesses on street level as possible. There are only thirteen residents

living in the buildings in the DSP, because the DSP is mostly for commercial

purpose. Most of the occupants are running cultural businesses, such as a

dancing academy, a film production studio and a tutorial school. The URAs

initial idea was to introduce some art and culture-related shops, such as a

bookstore and dancing studio 105 in the future site (Figure 5.3).

Figure 5.3. Illustration of the future verandah-type shophouses after the

Urban Renewal Authoritys implementation of preservation plan

(Source: The Urban Renewal Authority b)

In the URA development scheme, flower shops will continue to be the

anchor business of the area (Urban Renewal Authority c). The Land, Rehousing& Compensation Committee of URA offered HK$9,391 per square foot of

saleable floor area for the existing DSPs property owner. In URAs press release,

the spokesman said,

105 190 204 210 212 713

(URA 1.3 Billion)

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

312/438

291

[i]n view of the local characteristics of the Prince Edward Road West

project, the URA is considering introducing a local flower and school shop

arrangement ( ) for existing operators

in the businesses who are interested to re-establish their operations upon

restoration of the premises. Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, they

will be given priority to lease ground floor shops of shophouses within the

project area at the prevailing market rents ( ibid ).

According to the URA, upper floors of the buildings are intended for arts

and culture as well as food and beverage uses. This proposal is in line with the

Urban Renewal Strategy that the preserved heritage buildings should be put to

proper public use, as well as private and residential, to allow maximum

accessibility 106 . The restored buildings are expected to revitalise the area and be

more vibrant and attractive to visitors and the public.

Although the official plan suggests to have a culture-led flower market, the

URA ignores the existing quotidian culture. The URAs scheme does not address

the business operation of flower traders who are operating in the DSP. URAs

DSP assumes that the flower industry is merely a number of isolated commercial

retail businesses. Accordingly, existing operators should work within a market

logic, and therefore URA offers them current market rents in return for the

106 In the Urban Renewal Strategy Review conducted by the Development Bureau (DevB) between July 2008 to May 2011, heritage preservation should be part of urban renewal, and theURA should preserve heritage buildings if such preservation forms part of its urban renewal

projects. Preservation should include (a) preservation and restoration of buildings, sites and structures of historical, cultural orarchitectural interest; and (b) retention of the local colour of the community and the historicalcharacteristics of different districts. The URA will only undertake self-standing heritage

preservation projects which are outside its redevelopment project boundaries if there is policysupport or a request from the Administration. (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,Development Bureau c 11)

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

313/438

292

renewed heritage development. This involves the current owners being first

forced to sell their premises to the URA, and the tenants to first be evicted, with

the possibility of them returning after years of disruption to their businesses, to

rent the venue again according to premium market rent in the future gentrified

premises, way above the level they are paying now. We should challenge this

URA logic because heritage preservation is not merely a commercial decision,

but a matter of benefit for the community at large. The URA promised to offer a

compensation package for acquisition of affected properties (for example an

eligible owner-occupier of a domestic property will receive an acquisition price

that is comparable to the value of a seven-year-old flat of similar size in a similar

locality) and rehousing arrangements for affected tenants. However, in the

example of the relocation of business operators in the flower market, reality has

already proven that the amount of money is inadequate to buy and/or rent a

similar premise seven-years-old or more in the vicinity. Such premises are either

non-existent or very limited in availability in the actual housing stock, and, due

to the large number of evicted businesses fighting for relocation nearby as can be

projected for the renovation period, we can forsee that the costs of relevant

premises will be pushed sky high to levels way above the amount the business

got in compensation. Not to mention the lost to businesses losing income due to

the permanent or temporary termination of business and the loss of the well

known industrial cluster, and with it, the economic network of buyers and

suppliers as a result of relocation. Moreover, there is a time lag between the

agreement on compensation and the actual date the victims got the compensation

and can look for alternative premises, leading to significant market changes

meanwhile, which almost always price the evicted victims out of options

previously available and affordable.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

314/438

293

Until January 2012, two ground floor shops in the DSP have moved away.

For instance, a shop doing landscape design and selling bonsai, had to relocate to

the third floor of an industrial building located at Kwun Tong 107 . Another ground

floor shop, which is a shoe company, relocated to a ground floor shop in Sham

Shui Po 108 . With the evidence of the relocation of ground floor shop, my research

finds that URAs promised compensation level could hardly be actualised. Future

research direction could be on tracing study about the economic income,

business network and psychological damage suffered by comparing the condition

of the businesses, business operators and residents before and after relocation

due to urban renewal projects.

In URAs proposed planning, URA only allows existing business operators

to use future prevailing market price to return the site. This implies that the

existing business operators will face the same competition with other new

business operators who wish to rent the renovated premises. In other words, the

government compensates the premises only for eviction, but neglect peoples

business networks and sustainability. The URA have not calculated some

negative social consequences: since the shops existing business network needs

to be re-established when a business leaves the site and relocate, there is a high

chance that they will lose customers and get their supply chain and business

network disrupted. Such negative externalities are not calculated into the

compensation. At the same time, the URA focuses too much on improving the

107 The shop is called Art Mount ( ). The new address is Podium, 3/F, East SunIndustrial Centre, 16 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong. Kwun Tong is an area situated in the eastern

part of Kowloon and is a major industrial area (Art Mount).108

The shop is called Po Shing Shoe Company ( ). The new address is 165 UnChau Street, Sham Shui Po. Sham Shui Po is located at northwestern part of Kowloon. It is an olddeveloped area with a mixture of commercial, industrial and residential land use.

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

315/438

294

physical structure of the buildings without seeing how heritage preservation

practices can actually relate organically to the whole flower market in general.

The URA scheme focuses on the architectural buildings of the DSP, but not in a

way that could use heritage preservation as a way to enhance the inherited value

of the flower market as an industry in general. The URA intends to maintain the

idea of a flower market only in terms of place-branding. This refers to a

process of applying branding identities and images to geographical locations,

with disregard to the actual nature of the place or culture, which is a burgeoning

activity within advertising and marketing fields (Julier 31). This can be an

extremely decontextualised market representation/calculation totally alienated

from the way of life of those the branding image is extracted from. Such

estimations ignore the fact that a place is not a primary and singular product but

an agglomeration of identities, activities and histories. Place-branding projects

however, while claiming to identify, articulate and nurture these, nonetheless

often add up to merely the most generic and stereotypical collection of images

and values in terms of place-wide marketing ( ibid 34).

I want to argue that place marketing in this market should be based instead

on concrete local and sustainable industrial development, together with plans to

sustain and enhance the existing strong social, cultural and economic network.

Otherwise, it would easily fall into the trap of a superficial culture branding. The

URA proposed to establish flower shops and flower arrangement schools, but

this plan would not enhance the current practices nor resolve the conflict

between the law enforcement officers and florists, if policy changes are not in

place. Another proposed usage is to have a bookstore and a dance studio in the

future site. However, this arrangement would homogenize the cultural content of

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

316/438

295

the place, and any site could develop this kind of imposed culture. There is no

organic necessity to having such cultural content in a flower market. The existing

URA plan does not attempt to strengthen the social and cultural network of the

flower industry and other existing cultural-related business operations. This place

branding mentality shows that the government does not value the specific social

fabric of the place, but treats it merely as a place to attract tourists. However,

developing the market with the tourist gaze in mind might not be able to create a

sustainable and positive environment for the industry, and might even be

adversarial to local development. John Urry and Jonas Larsen argue,

[t]here is no simple relationship between what is directly seen and what this

signifies. We do not literally see things. Particularly as tourists, we see

objects and especially buildings in part constituted as signs. They stand for

something else. When we gaze as tourist what we see are various signs or

tourist clichs. The notion of the tourist gaze is not meant to account for

why specific individuals are motivated to travel. Rather we emphasise the

systematic and regularised nature of various gazes, each of which depends

upon social discourses and practices, as well as aspects of buildings, design

and restoration that foster the necessary look of a place or an environment.

Such gazes implicate both the gaz er and the gaz ee in an ongoing and

systematic set of social and physical relations (Urry, and Larsen 17)

Urry and Larsen understand the tourists gaze as a social construction

produced through external media. It affects how we perceive what a place should

be. In other words, the authenticity of a place can easily be undermined by the

tourists and the markets socially constructed view, or the corresponding notion

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

317/438

296

of heritage preservation with its over-emphasis on aesthetic value and its neglect

of community life and social relations. In contrast, local culture might be small

and mundane, without spectacular content, but it expresses the culture of

ordinary people. As described by a British scholar Raymond Williams famous

quotation on culture:

[c]ulture is ordinary that is the first fact. Every human society has its

own shape, its own purposes, its own meanings. Every human society

expresses these, in institutions, and in arts and learning. The making of a

society is the finding of common meanings and directions, and its growth is

an active debate and amendment under the pressures of experiences,

contacts, and discover, writing themselves into the land. The growing

society is there yet it is also made and remade in every individual mind. The

making of a mind is, first, the slow learning of shapes, purposes, and

meanings, so that work, observation and communication are possible

(Williams a 93).

Raymond Williams understanding of culture implies that culture is unique,

and different societies shape their own purposes and meanings of what their

culture is. It shows that different people, in various strata of the society, have

different cultures due to their specific geo-historical conditions, experiences and

understandings of the world. To move further into Williams argument, if culture

is ordinary, then the culture of ordinary people should be preserved to a larger

extent rather than only colonial and elite culture celebrated through high art and

spectacular architecture. However, the government does not treasure the use of

space in everyday life. In the following section, I will demonstrate how this vital

7/26/2019 FullText (6)

318/438

297

social life can be recognised in Tong Lau spaces.

5.8 Florists Use of Space in Tong Lau buildings The government ignored the discussion of spatial interaction between the

Tong Lau and the flower market in the heritage preservation project. Space,

which has no pre-existing meaning, becomes a meaningful place as it is

constructed by users during cultural-social interactions. However, in the planning

of the URAs heritage preservation and revitalisation projects, the social

interaction between florists, residents, and other commercial users were absent in

the governments discussion. The official explanation ignores the social

interactions and the specific quotidian use of space. In the following section, I

attempt to reveal how florists make use of the space of Tong Lau for their goods

display area, which is ignored in the governments analysis of the flower market.

Tong Lau structures along Prince Edward Road West, in the preserved area

stipulated by the URA, are four storeys high and set back from the street. The

veranda supported by bricks over the whole width of the pavement to form a

covered arcade at street level. Strings were tightened among two pillars so that

some hanging plants, like orchids, could be displayed (Figure 5.4 and 5.5). Also,

plastic bags of goods are hanged on the wall for the convenience of selling

(Figure 5.6). Some workers even hang their gloves for loading and unloading of

goods at convenient spaces. The flower market is an organic and local industry,

integrated into the tempo and pattern the communitys ordinary way of life. At

the same t