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Written by: Zhang Jiamin
2021-05-15 18:37
Last update date: 2021-05-15 18:39
The Antiquities Office conducted a survey of historical buildings in Hong Kong 25 years ago and recorded about 8,800 buildings. However, after inquiries from organizations and the media earlier, the list of the 8,800 buildings was finally released.
However, the format of the records on the list is different. The Local Research Institute asked the Office of Historic Sites to obtain the photo records of the buildings.
More than a month later, the Antiquities Office replied that it refused to make it public due to personal privacy and a large amount of work.
Chen Jianqing of our research agency criticized the authorities for unreasonable practices, believing that publicizing pictures helps people understand the "causes of death" of some buildings, and will continue to request the authorities to disclose documents.
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The Antiquities Office conducted a survey of buildings built before 1950 in Hong Kong 25 years ago. At that time, it recorded about 8,800 related buildings in Hong Kong. After that, 1,444 buildings with high historical value were selected and the grading work was carried out one by one.
In addition to disclosing the list and addresses of 8803 buildings, the documents also included four reports compiled by a team of experts. They mentioned that the buildings had been photographed and archived, and maps and building information were integrated for each building.
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Antiquities Office refers to personal privacy
After obtaining the list of buildings in March, the Local Research Institute further requested information such as photo records and maps from the Antiquities Office at the end of March.
However, it was replied by the Antiquities Office recently that it refused to make it public.
The Antiquities Office stated that the pictures involved the personal data of the households and could not be used for purposes other than investigations without permission. Therefore, they refused to disclose them in accordance with the personal privacy in the Code of Disclosure of Information.
The Office of Antiquities and Monuments also pointed out that if the photo records are released, they must be reviewed one by one to ensure that no personal information has been disclosed.
The investigation team had to make hand-painted records on the maps purchased from the Lands Department. Since the Lands Department’s maps are protected by copyright, the Office of Historic Sites would have to trace more than 8,800 buildings one by one from the map if the cost of copying was required. Deal with copyright issues with the Lands Department.
The Antiquities Office stated that it would involve substantial work. Since the information can only be provided through unreasonable use of departmental resources, it refuses to disclose it in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Disclosure of Information.
Chen Jianqing, a member of the local research society, pointed out that not only the public's right to know, but also the public's research can be facilitated by the public photos.
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Chen Jianqing points out that public pictures help to understand the "cause of death" of the building
Chen Jianqing, a local research agency, criticized the unreasonable practices of the administration of historic sites, believing that many of them were government buildings, and questioned the claims that violated personal privacy.
He also said that the Antiquities Office had conducted a study on the remaining more than 6,000 pre-war buildings, and believed that public records would not involve additional work.
In fact, the Local Research Institute had integrated 8,803 historical buildings into a map earlier, and questioned why the relevant departments could not, if the private sector had the ability to do so.
He said that in addition to the public's right to know, the public's right to know is involved in the public's publicized photo records. It also facilitates private research and can better understand the "causes of death" of some buildings that are not rated.
He said that the local research community continued to write to the Office of Historic Sites to request disclosure of records.
The over 100-year-old mansion at No. 27 Lugard Road on the Peak, which is classified as a first-class historical building, is recorded in 8,800 buildings.
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Once restricted the public building list
It is worth noting that when the local research agency asked the authorities for the list of buildings earlier, the Antiquities Office once restricted them from publishing the list. At that time, it also used copyright as a reason. After the research agency and the media inquired, the list was finally released, and it was found that some of the list had not been published. The "Relics from the Sea" included in the list of 1,444 include No. 27 Lugard Road, which was later listed as a new project, and many tenement buildings with a history of more than 80 years in Kowloon City.
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Historic buildings of the Antiquity Advisory Council of the Office of Official Monuments
