Fortune Favours Consultation, Rural Leader Tells Govt

A traditional fortune-telling ceremony said to predict the fate of Hong Kong saw history repeat itself on Monday, with a rural leader pulling out the same fortune seen the last time the Year of the Rabbit came around.

Each year, the head of the influential rural body the Heung Yee Kuk goes to the Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin on the second day of the Lunar New Year to draw a fortune stick. This year, chairman Kenneth Lau picked stick number 11, which contains a Chinese phrase referencing matters of prestige, money, luck and marriage.

While many of the 96 sticks available have a clear negative or positive connotation, stick 11 is considered neutral, though Lau said it had a clear underlying message for the administration.

"The situation has improved, but the government should work cautiously so that everything can go well," Lau said.

"There are a few projects being carried out, such as the Northern Metropolis... The government should do more consultations and listen to more opinions, in order to make them workable."

The Northern Metropolis is the government's plan to develop hundreds of thousands of new homes and an IT hub in the nothern part of Hong Kong in the coming years.

This wasn't the first time stick number 11 appeared at the ceremony. Twelve years ago, at the start of the last Year of the Rabbit, Lau's father, then-Heung Yee Kuk head Lau Wong-fat, also pulled out the same fortune.