Lam in bid to preserve ‘living communities’ CE contender says HK’s historical buildings should be maintained

Chief Executive aspirant Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Thursday she would like to turn Hong Kong into a modern community with a human touch by preserving its historical buildings and keeping them as “living communities”.

In a video posted by her campaign office, she cited the Blue House Cluster in Wan Chai as a classic example of preserving the city’s architecture and its people.

The Blue House Cluster, which includes a four-story Lingnan-style house built in the 1920s, was named because of the blue color paint on its external wall. The Grade I historical building is famous for its mixture of Chinese and Westernstyle architecture.

Lam, who grew up in Wan Chai, said strolling down the historical site revived fond memories of the district — one of the city’s oldest residential areas. It was also her affection for the district that has led her to get acquainted with a local conservationist.

The conservationist was determined to keep the Blue House Cluster and get the people residing there to preserve it as a living community. It was a rare practice as, in many cases, conservations only managed to keep the architecture, leaving the building uninhabited. The Blue House was the first such project in which both the building and the inhabitants have been kept.

Lam had been making regular visits to Wan Chai while she was secretary for development from 2007 to 2012.

During her four years as head of the Development Bureau, she led the bureau in preserving many of the city’s prominent cultural relics and helped renew many of the dilapidated buildings through the Urban Renewal Authority. The projects that were preserved include Wing Lee Street in Sheung Wan, which has been fully kept in its original form, and the revitalization of the Central Market.

In 2009, Lam tabled a HK$1 billion, two-year renovation project to facilitate renovation work on some 1,000 old buildings in disrepair.

Former actress Josephine Siao Fong-fong, who is now a children’s rights advocate, also pledged support for Lam, praising her for her devotion to Hong Kong.

Siao attributed the successful establishment of the End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation to Lam, who was then director of Social Welfare Department.

Besides Lam, former financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah and retired judge Woo Kwokhing are also in the city’s leadership race to be held on March 26. The winner must secure at least 601 votes from the 1,194-strong Election Committee and will have to be appointed by the central government.