Lantau reclamation project: pro-democracy parties and advocacy groups launch campaign to get 100,000 signatures opposing government plan
- Campaign hopes to garner enough signatures to make government think twice about estimated HK$500 billion project
Pro-democracy parties and advocacy groups have launched a campaign to collect 100,000 signatures against a government proposal to create a mega island in Hong Kong waters.
The campaign, officially announced on Wednesday, has collected some 30,000 signatures since it started on October 10, the day when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor revealed the 1,700-hectare reclamation plan in her policy address.
Organisers said the campaign, which is expected to end in mid-December, will be driven by district-level advocacy groups and the parties’ offices via an online platform, street booths and written submissions.
With a district council election coming next year, the groups said even pro-establishment lawmakers would have to consider whether to support the government on the plan if enough voters voiced their objection.
“The campaign is very important, to show public opinion,” said Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung. “People’s opinions should be respected by the government.”
