Ocean Park Grant 'against Animal Rights Movement'

Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Thursday rejected suggestions that his proposed HK$310 million grant to the cash-strapped Ocean Park runs counter to the global trend to promote animal rights.

Hong Kong First lawmaker Claudia Mo said while the rest of the world was working to secure the welfare of animals, Chan’s proposal was aimed only at saving the struggling theme park.

Chan has proposed allocating the money to Ocean Park over the next several years to support its efforts in developing education and tourism projects. He also announced that the park will hand out 10,000 free tickets to primary and secondary students this year.

But Mo questioned how the government intends to choose which of Hong Kong’s 800,000-odd students will get the tickets; and added that if the government truly wants to promote educational tourism, it should have given the money to the Wetland Park instead.

But, appearing before Legco to answer questions about his new budget, Chan said Ocean Park places a high priority on animal rights. He also defended the HK$310 million cash injection, saying Ocean Park is a park for the people – a place that many residents like to visit.

He said the government hopes the cash can help the park improve its services. The Financial Secretary added that the amount had been carefully calculated by officials and was intended for a number of new projects spread over several years.