Flood alleviation in a heavily urbanized area – Kai Tak Nullah, Hong Kong

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan K. L. Chan ◽  
Colin K. C. Wong ◽  
Robin H. N. Lee ◽  
Mike W. H. Cho
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Hydraulic Modelling ◽  
The Public ◽  
Design Considerations ◽  
Urbanized Area ◽  
Development Area ◽  
The Government ◽  
Exercise Design

The existing Kai Tak Nullah flows from Po Kong Village Road along Choi Hung Road and Tung Tau Estate into Kai Tak Development Area before discharging into the Victoria Harbour. Historically its upstream has been subject to flooding under storm conditions and this has had serious repercussions for the adjacent urban areas. A study has been commissioned by the Drainage Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), China to investigate the flood mechanisms and to provide flood alleviation measures by improving the capacity of the Kai Tak Nullah. In addition to flood alleviation, there is a strong public aspiration to rehabilitate the Kai Tak Nullah by a comparatively natural river design. Since the Kai Tak Nullah is located within a heavily urbanized area, traffic and environmental impacts are also highly concerned. The final flood alleviation scheme has thus had to strike a balance among the aforesaid factors with assistance from the hydraulic modelling utilizing InfoWorks Collection Systems (CS) software. This paper presents the public engagement exercise, design considerations, methodologies, and recommendations regarding the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Kai Tak Nullah.

Reflections on the Acquisition of Land by Non-citizens in Botswana

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-204
Author(s):  
Boga Thura Manatsha
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Land Policy ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Government ◽  
Tribal Land ◽  
Ownership Of Land ◽  
Land Transactions

There are rising public concerns about the acquisition of prime land by non-citizens/foreigners in Botswana, especially in the sprawling urban and peri-urban areas. Indians, Nigerians and Chinese, among others, are allegedly involved in such land transactions. There is a salient local resentment towards them and/or such transactions. Sensational media reports, emotive public statements by politicians, chiefs and government officials, and anger from ordinary citizens dominate the discourse. These emotive public debates about this issue warrant some academic comment. This article argues that the acquisition of land by foreigners in Botswana, in each land category—tribal, state and freehold—is legally allowed by the relevant laws. But this does not mean that citizens have no right to raise concerns and/or show their disapproval of some of these legal provisions. Aware of the public outcry, the government has since passed the Land Policy in 2015, revised in 2019, and amended the Tribal Land Act in 2018, not yet operational, to try and strictly regulate the acquisition of land by non-citizens. There is no readily available statistical data, indicating the ownership of land by foreigners in each land category. This issue is multifaceted and needs to be cautiously handled, lest it breeds xenophobia or the anti-foreigner sentiments.

scholarly journals HONG KONG SAR IMMIGRATION IN THE DYNAMICS OF POLITICS, POLICY AND INSTITUTION

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-81
Author(s):  
Andry Indrady
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
Power Domination ◽  
The Public ◽  
Hong Kong Sar ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
The Government ◽  
Colonial Government ◽  
And Control

The Bureaucratic System of the Immigration Department of Hong Kong SAR is one of the legacies from British Colonial Government seen from legal and also immigration bureaucratic perspectives reflect the executive power domination over immigration policymaking. This is understandable since Hong Kong SAR adopts “Administrative State Model” which means Immigration Officer as a bureaucrat holds significant roles at both stages of policymaking and also its implementation. This research looks at transition period of the Immigration Department and its policies since the period of handover of Hong Kong SAR from the British Government to the Government of China especially throughout the concern from the public including academics about the future of immigration policies made by the Department that arguably from colonial to current being used as political and control tools to safeguard the interest of the Ruler. This situation ultimately will question the existence of Hong Kong SAR as one of the International Hub in the Era of Millennium.  

scholarly journals COMBATING SQUATTERS IN MALAYSIA: DO WE HAVE ADEQUATE POLICIES AS INSTRUMENT?

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusfida Ayu Abdullah ◽  
Julieven Nonoi Kuek ◽  
Hazlina Hamdan ◽  
Farrah Lyana Mohd Zulkifli
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
National Plan ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
The Public ◽  
Low Income Groups ◽  
Low Cost Housing ◽  
The Government

The year 2014 had witnessed the scenario where most of the states in Malaysia pledged to declare themselves as Zero Squatter state. Thus far, most of the states in Malaysia are still striving to achieve the goal. The government has therefore aspires to reach the target by the year 2020. The Malaysian government under its 5-years National Plan has since introduced the low, medium and high cost housing categories. The housing policy was therefore designed to provide the public of all income levels, particularly the low-income groups, with affordable housing as part of an effort to eradicate squatters. However, despite the various policies, the number of squatter families remains large, especially in the urban areas. This paper therefore, intends to examine the instruments put forward by the government to eliminate squatters and assess the roles of related parties assigned to achieve the government’s mission. Through a qualitative approach, results demonstrated that Malaysia has various types of polices and guidance at both the federal and state levels in relation to low-cost housing provision. These would have supposed to help reduce the number of squatters in the country. However, to date, Malaysia is still experiencing problems with squatters. This calls for further investigation.

scholarly journals Use of Shared-Mobility Services to Accomplish Emergency Evacuation in Urban Areas via Reduction in Intermediate Trips—Case Study in Xi’an, China

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menghui Li ◽  
Jinliang Xu ◽  
Xingliang Liu ◽  
Chao Sun ◽  
Zhihao Duan
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Emergency Evacuation ◽  
Emergency Evacuations ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Public ◽  
Shared Mobility ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Government

Under no-notice evacuation scenarios with limited time horizons, the effectiveness of evacuation can be negatively impacted by intermediate trips that are made by family members and the identification of vulnerable populations. The emergence of shared-mobility companies, such as Uber and DiDi, can be considered as a potential means to address above-mentioned concerns. The proposed study explores the utility of shared-mobility services under emergency-evacuation scenarios and makes recommendations to relevant bodies that are based on the obtained and they are discussed herein. The study investigates attitudes of the public, experts, and drivers towards the use of shared-mobility resources during emergency evacuations based on a stated preference survey. Results of questionnaires, driver interviews, and face-to-face expert interviews have been analyzed to validate the feasibility and identify potential problems of leveraging shared-mobility services during evacuation response, especially in metropolitan areas wherein such services are already ubiquitous. Numerical simulations have been performed to quantify potential improvements in the total trip distance and number of evacuees after incorporating the use of shared mobility into emergency-response operations. However, despite the observed improvement in emergency efficiency, certain realistic roadblocks must be overcome. Realization of the proposed objective heavily depends on actionable policy recommendations, provided herein as a reference for the government, emergency management agencies, and shared-mobility companies.

Barriers to adopting solar photovoltaic systems in Hong Kong

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 649-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Lo ◽  
Daphne Ngar-Yin Mah ◽  
Guihua Wang ◽  
Michael KH Leung ◽  
Alex Y Lo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Energy Output ◽  
Photovoltaic Systems ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Barriers ◽  
Regulatory Barriers ◽  
The Government

The adoption of solar photovoltaic systems is often constrained by various sociotechnical barriers. In this paper, we identify and differentiate barriers to photovoltaic among three groups of potential adopters in Hong Kong: individuals, businesses, and the public sector. A total of 55 interviews were conducted to collect the data for the study. The results indicate that the most important constraints were technical barriers such as space limitations and low energy output, followed by economic barriers such as high upfront costs and long payback periods. Furthermore, we found that individuals were the group most exposed to market, policy, and regulatory barriers and they had to contend with the highest number of barriers. Our analysis also illustrates that there was a close interrelationship between the barriers. For example, technical barriers, such as space limitations, could be overcome partially by addressing regulatory barriers. Based on the analysis, we formulate a number of policy recommendations. The results of this study could be useful to the government in its attempt to facilitate a sustainable energy transition in Hong Kong.

scholarly journals Tackling COVID-19 risk in Hong Kong: Examining distrust, compliance and risk management

2021 ◽  
pp. 001139212199002
Author(s):  
Raymond KH Chan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
The Public ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Medical Facilities ◽  
The Government

Proximity to mainland China places Hong Kong at the forefront of the COVID-19 threat, and it has survived the test most of the time. It appears that public compliance with government advice on preventive measures and social distancing, plus the availability of tests and medical facilities, contributed to the successful handling of the crisis. While it is generally believed that trust is crucial for successful compliance and collaboration, a critical review of the case of Hong Kong shows that it was distrust, due to a lack of confidence and skepticism with regard to the government’s values, that caused the public to take early self-protective measures and initiated societal-wide self-help campaigns. Their compliance was actually with measures that the public themselves had demanded and agreed. The government was criticized for doing too little, too late; as well as for failing to put local people’s interests first, and acting for political motives. Despite the success in combating the virus, the government did not enjoy a proportionate gain in trust. This article argues that distrust in government was very much shaped by the perceived dissimilarity in salient values between the government and the public. A lack of transparency and participation in the decision-making process, as well as a lack of emotional connection with the public, also contributed to the distrust.

scholarly journals Aktivasi Keterlibatan Publik dalam Program Berita ‘NET 10’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurnal ARISTO
Keyword(s):  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Editorial Staff ◽  
Citizen Journalism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
News Program ◽  
News Value ◽  
The Government

This research entitled Activation of The Public Engagement in `NET 10` News Program. An intrinsic case study by Robert E. Stake on Activating The Public Engagement in `NET 10` Citizen Journalism NET TV’s News Program. This research aimed to understand NET TV’s public management strategy in 'NET 10' news program. In addition, this research also aimed to determine how the editorial staff considere the standard of news value and news judgment on citizen journalist news, and the function of public sphere in the mass media of citizen journalism. The method used qualitative research with intrinsic case study approach by Robert E. Stake to NET TV’s editorial. The results showed the editorial’s strategy of public management by following action: (1) provided easily of joining 'NET CJ', (2) created campaigns to increase the number of CJ, (3) nature CJ by keeping good and giving relationship evaluations, (4) provides rewards for the creator of CJ news aired in 'NET 10', and (5) educates CJ in making a citizen journalism news. NET TV used curation techniques in the process of citizen journalism news gatekeeper to keep the news value and news judment standard of citizen journalism news. Unfortunately, ‘NET 10’’s citizen journalism news rate of the proportion of news comprehensive continues to fall down because the editorial put loyalty forward. 'NET CJ' act as a opinions catalyst of the citizens to the government.

scholarly journals E-Governance as a Roadmap to Good Governance: A Digital Punjab Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 905-915
Author(s):  
Ume Laila ◽  
Najma Sadiq ◽  
Tahir Mehmood ◽  
Muhammad Farhan Fiaz
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Governance Mechanism ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Public ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
The Government

A new wave of technology hit at the turn of millennium which inspired millions around the world to utilize information technology in their daily lives. Governments have also started taking technological initiatives, as it makes their processes cost and time efficient – but the question remains, does e-governance make the government activities transparent as well? What is the level of accountability in the e-governance mechanism? Innovations in the government processes are flowing easily after the advent of e-governance. Even though there is a huge digital divide between the rural and urban areas of Pakistan, which consequently translates into slower implementation of technological services, in backward areas, the Punjab Information and Technology boards is taking leaps in delivering the public service which spans but is not limited to the health, education and law and order sectors.

scholarly journals Research on Public Participation in Recording Intangible Cultural Heritage in Rural Area

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 01014
Author(s):  
Yanling Guo ◽  
Yonghui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

Being an important part of cultural heritage, intangible cultural heritage (hereinafter referred to as “ICH”) needs to be passed down from generation to generation. Seemed as the gene of national cultures, ICH is very important for the development and prosperity of human culture, for the development of social economy and civilization, and for the identity of individuals and ethnic groups. Since the publication of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003, ICH safeguarding activities have been fully implemented throughout the world. Recording ICH is a basic and important way to safeguard ICH, this way plays an important role and has been widely approved throughout China and other countries. It has been applied in many ICH item safeguarding, such as Nanjing Yunjin, Qinhuai Lantern Festival. As we all know, ICH resources are very rich in China. There are 39 ICH items have been listed in “ the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”, 1,372 ICH items have been listed in “the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in China”. There are a large number of famous and not famous ICH items scattered in urban areas. To record so many ICH resources, it is not enough to rely on the power of the government. As the creator and inheritor of ICH, the public should play an important role in the safeguarding activities. Attracting the public to participate is a prerequisite of ICH safeguarding. Through questionnaires, interviews and other research methods, this paper introduces the public’s awareness and attitude about recording ICH, and their ability and willingness to participate in ICH safeguarding activities. Based on the current status, It analyzes the advantages of public participation in the protection of ICH , and the disadvantages, opportunities and threats are also analyzed. Based on the international principle of “government-led, public participation”, this paper proposes to construct a “folk-government” model to optimize the quality of recording ICH. To ensure the quality of public participation, it further points out that some measures should be taken, such as strengthen the government leadership to provide necessary support, identifying their advantages and responsibilities of different participants to joint, expanding the participation content and diversifying the participation method. These measures are all aimed at promotion the safeguarding and inheriting the ICH.

Searching for an Identity: Debates over Moral and National Education as an Independent Subject in Contemporary Hong Kong

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-97
Author(s):  
Zardas Shuk-Man Lee ◽  
Phoebe Y. H. Tang ◽  
Carol C. L. Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
School Subject ◽  
National Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
Education Today ◽  
The Government ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region [HKSAR] announced the introduction of Moral and National Education (MNE] as an independent and compulsory school subject in May 2011. The content of MNE's consultation draft and the teaching material produced by government-funded organizations incited about 100,000 people to demonstrate outside the Hong Kong government headquarters for eight consecutive days in early September 2012. Protesters including teachers, parents, students, and concerned members of the public described MNE as 'brainwashing, and demanded the curriculum's withdrawal. This article presents the historical development of national education in Hong Kong, the various challenges the MNE curriculum faced, and the conflicts and negotiations between the government and the public. It first explores the background of national education reform in Hong Kong since 2000. It then examines how the government instructed local schools to teach national identity in subjects of Chinese History and the newly proposed MNE. The next section discusses the declining importance of Chinese History education since 2000. The article concludes by reviewing the voices supporting and opposing MNE, the most recent development in Hong Kong's education today.

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