Felix Chung Slams 'last Minute' Ocean Park Plan

The chairman of Legco's panel on economic development, Felix Chung, has criticised the government's "last minute" request for funding to bail out Ocean Park, and called for a shake-up in the park management team.

Chung's comments come a day after the authorities urged lawmakers to quickly approve a HK$5.4 billion funding plan, warning that the park will run out of cash in a couple of weeks time.

The item has been put on the agenda of Legco's Finance Committee for this Friday's meeting.

Speaking on an RTHK programme on Tuesday, Chung said a lot of people in Hong Kong want to keep the amusement park open.

He criticised the government for "forcing us to support this last-minute plan", saying that he worried that if it does not get passed by Legco, then lawmakers will be seen as "traitors through the ages".

The Liberal Party leader also slammed the proposal to earmark HK$3 billion of the requested funds to repay loans, while just HK$2.4 billion would be spent to shore up the park for the next 12 months.

"That's HK$200 million every month for the next year, what happens after one year?" he asked, adding that this was not a suitable long-term plan.

Chung also said that there needs to be a change in leadership at Ocean Park, saying that it has been losing money since former chairman Allan Zeman left the post in 2014.

He also suggested that Legco could greenlight HK$2.4 billion for park operations first, and that the park should talk to banks about postponing the HK$3 billion loan repayment.

Chung said he and his party will discuss on Tuesday whether or not to support the bailout plan.

His comments come after Lau Ming-wai, the vice chair of the theme park's board of directors, told the same programme that Ocean Park currently employs about 2,000 people, and that the consequences would be severe if the park were to close.

Lau also said that they are looking for candidates to succeed the park's current chief executive Matthias Li, who will retire in July.