VZCZCXRO0883
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHHK #2239/01 1501004
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 301004Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6968
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002239 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM 
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2031 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR CH HK
SUBJECT: VICTORY FOR DONALD TSANG: LEGCO SUBCOMMITTEE 
APPROVES TAMAR PROJECT 
 
Classified By: E/P Section Chief Simon Schuchat; Reasons 1.4 (b, d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  On May 29, the Legislative Council (Legco) 
Public Works Subcommittee voted in favor of the Hong Kong 
Government's long-contested HKD 5.1 billion (USD 660 million) 
proposal to construct a new Government headquarters complex 
at the Tamar waterfront site.  If, as expected, the Legco 
Finance Committee also approves the plan on June 23, then 
construction will begin in 2007 for completion by 2010.  With 
the May 26 announcement by the Democratic Party that it would 
support the plan, the only remaining opponents in Legco are 
the six Civic Party members and a few independent democrats, 
most notably Kwok Ka-ki.  The project's opponents have 
objected to the plan's high financial costs, potential impact 
on traffic and air quality, and use of prime commercial land 
for government offices.  They also have claimed that the 
entire design and approval process has lacked transparency 
and public consultation.  At this time, however, the 
project's momentum appears irreversible; on May 30, Kwok told 
us pessimistically that only "pressure from China or from the 
Hong Kong people" could force the Government to reverse 
course. 
 
¶2.    (C) Comment: Since his inauguration last year, Chief 
Executive Donald Tsang has viewed the Tamar project as one of 
three key goals for his abbreviated two-year term.  With 
Legco's rejection of his constitutional reform proposals and 
the indefinite shelving -- in the face of strong, broad-based 
opposition -- of his concept for the West Kowloon Cultural 
District, Tsang pushed hard to gain Legco's backing for his 
Tamar plan, reaching out across the political spectrum to 
democrats and pro-Beijing populists.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
¶3.    (SBU) On May 29, 16 of the 18 members of the Legco 
Public Works Subcommittee voted in favor of the Government's 
long-contested HKD 5.1 billion (USD 660 million) proposal to 
construct a new Government headquarters complex at the Tamar 
waterfront site in Hong Kong's Central district.  The 
Democratic Party (DP), the Democratic Alliance for the 
Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the Liberal Party 
(LP), the Alliance, and the Federation of Trade Unions 
members all voted in favor of the proposal, while two 
lawmakers from the Civic Party (CP) voted against.  The next 
step in the approval process will be a June 23 vote for final 
endorsement in the Finance Committee.  If that vote succeeds 
as expected, then construction would begin in 2007, with 
completion by 2010.  Although support for the project from 
the LP, Alliance, and FTU has been solid for some time, the 
DAB and DP are more recent converts.  In March, as its 
relations with the Tsang improved, the DAB dropped its 
insistence on moving the project to the old Kai Tak Airport 
site in southeast Kowloon.  More recently, on May 26 the DP 
announced it would support the project.  Party Chairman Lee 
Wing-tat told the press that the Government had "reacted 
positively" to its requests for conservation of the existing 
Central Government buildings and the Government Hill site. 
 
 
¶4.    (SBU) Opponents of the project have objected to the 
plan's high financial costs, potential impact on traffic and 
air quality, and use of prime commercial land for government 
offices.  They also have claimed that the entire design and 
approval process has lacked transparency and public 
consultation.  The recently formed Civic Party, with six 
Legco members, has been especially critical of the 
government's plan; on May 29, CP Legco member Alan Leong told 
the "South China Morning Post" that the government had 
overlooked rational debate and meaningful public 
participation and deployed a "strong arm" to secure the votes 
it needed.  Leong also contested Chief Executive Tsang's 
claim that 70 percent of the people supported the project 
plan; he urged the government to conduct an independent poll 
to assess public views. 
 
¶5.    (C) On May 30, independent pro-democracy Legco member 
Kwok Ka-ki told poloff that he definitely was not satisfied 
with the Government's latest proposal for the Tamar project. 
Dr. Kwok said the plan that was released to the media on May 
29 was simply "old stuff" with some "new details" regarding 
the harbor-front sidewalk and other minor aspects, while all 
the "important stuff" has not been well-addressed.  As such, 
the Government had failed to address his concerns about 
additional land reclamation, general over-planning, and the 
excessive height and density of construction.  In general, 
Kwok claimed that "nothing has changed and nothing has been 
settled since day one." 
 
¶6.    (C) According to Kwok, only "pressure from China or 
 
HONG KONG 00002239  002 OF 002 
 
 
from the Hong Kong people" could force the Government to 
reverse course on the Tamar project.  He was not optimistic, 
however, that either source would generate sufficient 
pressure.  China had no interest in opposing the project, 
while the people of Hong Kong were unlikely to "come out on 
the streets" over the Tamar issue.  Kwok laughed when asked 
why the DP had dropped its opposition to the Tamar project; 
he said the DP did not want to be labeled as a "strong 
opposition party" and "probably received some gain from this 
decision." 
 
Cunningham