The $8.6 billion Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has been a hotbed for discussion and appeared in the headlines throughout Asia the month of January. Protestors flocked to show their frustration. Associated Press reporter Min Lee reported that, “Hundreds camped out in a public square next to the legislature late Friday [Jan. 15] … another 500 staged a sit-in in front of the Hong Kong leader’s mansion.” The public’s objection to the project has many roots, but the two most prominent are the questions of whether the rail link is worth $8.6 billion and whether the government’s act of pushing through an enormously expensive project without consulting the public in detail shows the need for political reforms.
On Oct. 20, the Chief Executive in Legislative Council (Legco) authorized the scheme of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (the Express Rail Link) that was proposed a year earlier. However, the whole project was under the radar, as the government made little attempt to inform the public on the details of this expensive venture through any means. This attitude of the government infuriated much of the public, especially the demographic of post-1980 children, calling themselves “post-80s.” Freelance layout designer Vicky Lo, a member of the “post-80s,” launched a hunger strike outside the legislature with five others last Tuesday. The 23-year-old said that more information should be provided by the government, and the project should be subjected to extra scrutiny since the cost of the project reaches the high figure of about $1,300 per citizen.
The “post-80s” group was the main driving force behind the protests. They felt helpless in their society, where it is impossible for them to survive due to the soaring housing prices and transportation costs. It is virtually impossible for most “post-80s” children to afford a house or even an apartment, due to the stagnating economy. Therefore, it is especially frustrating when they realize that the government is pouring huge volumes of money into a scheme that has a limited need, instead of addressing the more pressing social issues like poverty and the economy. Mirana Szeto, a spokeswoman for the protesters, said, “We are being offered an apple without realizing it’s poisonous – until we bite it. We are not ready, so we should not make such an expensive bet.”
However, Hong Kong officials claimed that most of the public supports this project, which will offer a big economic boost to the territory by cutting train travel time to key mainland cities. The train line will plug Hong Kong into China’s network by 2015, cutting travel times and deepening Hong Kong’s link with the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Hong Kong-based MTR Corp. will construct the link at a cost of HK $2.57 billion per kilometer. Although the new line will cut travel time by about 10 minutes from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, opponents maintain that it is not worth the huge price tag, since there is an existing mass transit system to Guangzhou. “I fully support the idea of linking Hong Kong into Mainland China’s network,” said lawmaker Alan Leong, also a Legco member. “Still, it costs too much and there are problems with the location.”
Additionally, polls suggest that public opinion in the territory is torn, rather than in favor of the scheme. According to a University of Hong Kong phone survey, 50 percent of locals back the project as it stands, while 44 percent either oppose it outright or want it delayed to allow for more scrutiny and debate. Ma Ngok, a political scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said, “The government has this bureaucratic habit of expecting things to pass easily.”
By late last November, what started out as a protest by suburban villagers who were forced to relocate had grown into a broader coalition that also involved pro-democracy activists, university students, and conservationists. The news of the project made its first appearance on the media when over 1,000 protestors attended the rally in addition to the 100 people engaged in a sit-in protest in front of the government headquarters in central Hong Kong. With growing coverage of the government’s scheme, the amount of protests also multiplied. On Dec. 18, the Finance Committee of Legco debated the funding application, which attracted a demonstration of an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people, who staged themselves around the Legco Building. However, the debate was put on hold and the funding was not finalized, as they failed to reach an agreement.
On Jan. 16, the Finance Committee of Legco approved the funding of the construction of the Express Rail Link, voting 31-21, in favor of the scheme. The construction work for the Express Rail Link has been scheduled to commence in January for completion in 2015. The MTR Corporation has been entrusted with the planning and construction of the Express Rail Link. The railway is one of the 10 infrastructure projects that Hong Kong’s government plans to boost its economy. There are also plans to construct a bridge linking Hong Kong with the gambling enclave of Macau and the city of Zhuhai, across the border from Macau. As a result, concern continues to escalate as Hong Kong citizens wonder how they will fund these expensive projects when Hong Kong is still recovering from the subprime mortgage crisis, in addition to facing a range of social problems like rising poverty levels and the widening of the social classes. n
Costly $8.6 billion Hong Kong Train Draws Protest From Locals
Published: Thursday, February 4, 2010
Updated: Thursday, February 4, 2010
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