Hong Kong hasdone much to build its reputation as a modern, cosmopolitan city, but it hasnot put as much effort into preserving or restoring its historical sites andinteresting backstreets. With the inclusion of Macau’s historical ruins andrestored city center on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, some people havesuggested restoring the historical buildings and backstreets of areas such asWan Chai and Sheung Wan in order to preserve an important part of Hong Kong’spast.
There have been much concerns recently aboutrestoring historical buildings in Hong Kong in a bid to preserve an importantpart of Hong Kong’s past. Some people sing praise to restore historicalbuildings while some are averse to the suggestions strongly. Before having adecision on whether it is beneficial or detrimental, we shall have a deepanalysis on the consequence it may lead to.
It is acknowledged that historical buildings is inthe position to provide people, especially the old generation, with a sense ofbelonging to Hong Kong. Historical buildings are usually a token to bring upthe collective memory Hong Kong people have. People will flash back to theircarefree time at childhood when they catch the sight of the same buildingswhere people have a mountains of unforgettable memories. Needless to say, it iscertainly conducive to wake people up to the identity as a HongKonger.
Furthermore, restoring historical buildingsemphatically facilitate the development of local culture. Historical buildingsdoes not only refer to the unique history such as being the colony of Englandat last century, but also embody the particular lifestyle in the past. Accordingly,travelers can experience Hong Kong’s local culture by visiting these historicalbuildings apart from eating street foods. Obviously, the whole society willbenefit from restoring the historical building in terms of Hong Kong tourismindustry and cultural development.
Nonetheless, some hold the adverse opinion andadvocate that historical buildings will be a drain on our valued land resource,especially in the business area like Wan Chai. Therefore, the businessactivities will be diminished as a consequence of less available land. As theworld’s freest economy, Hong Kong is famous with its business activity. Restoringthese buildings will occupy the place in business area and as a result,business will directly get hurt.
Worse still, restoring historical buildings willcreate another financial burden for government and the whole society must payfor it. The huge amount of restoring cost, maintenance and operation will finallyadd up. Taxpayer must pay for it, the affluent and the impoverished alike. In thisday and age, government has already a heavy burden on financial resource, andthe extra cost for restoring historical buildings will worsen the conditionwithout doubt.
All in all, as my motto, doing things inmoderation, I agree to restore historical buildings as it really promotes ourcultural development and raises the awareness of the sense of belonging to HK. Itis absolutely paramount and worthwhile. However, we should not bring it toextreme that seriously affect our business development or generate a hugefinancial burden. We must strike a balance between the merits and the demerits.
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