Time Runs Out For 'Lantau Tomorrow' Study

Legco’s Finance Committee completed its last meeting of the current term on Friday without vetting a funding request for studies related to the controversial ‘Lantau Tomorrow Vision’ project to create a new metropolis on artificial islands off Lantau.

The HK$550 million funding request was put as the next-to-last item on the agenda on a list of 21 – meaning it was highly unlikely that lawmakers would have time to even start debating the item, much less approve it.

Nonetheless, Democratic Party legislator Roy Kwong moved a motion to adjourn the debate with three hours remaining, not hiding his intention to drag out the time to make sure the funding request can't be dealt with.

“Lots of accidents happen”, he told his colleagues. “Maybe suddenly if the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project is brought up, all this money would end up dumped in the sea. If I don’t drag out this chat, maybe the project [will go ahead].”

The DAB’s Ann Chiang slammed him for being ‘irrational’, saying if he wanted to filibuster, he could have at least waited a while longer so more funding requests could be vetted first.

In the end, only eight of 21 items were dealt with before the committee wrapped up its work for the current legislative session.

This means the government would have to reintroduce the request anew to the new Legco to be elected in September.

However, Council Front lawmaker Chu Hoi-dick urged the government to rethink whether it really wants to do this.

“The big [picture is changing, and it costs a lot of money… If we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on pandemic relief, I think the government really needs to have a [rethink] on whether to continue it or not”, he said.