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News & LS 19 March 2010Friday

● Text : Anvil Ong ● Photos : Sing Tao Daily

yGo to www.student.thestandard.com.hk

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Echoes of the RainbowThe Chinese name of the film is Shui Yuet Sun Tau. It is directed by Alex Law Kai-

yui and produced by his wife Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting. It stars Sandra Ng Kwan-yue and Simon Yam Tat-wah. In the film, Ng plays the role of a can-do mother. She is also a saleswoman. Yam plays her shoemaker husband. They have two sons who are the opposites of each other. One of them wants to be Hong Kong's first astronaut. Cantopop singer Aarif Lee Chi-ting plays the 16-year-old Desmond Law.

URA to lose out on To Kwa Wan project

Tong-lauThis is a special housing feature of Hong Kong. It is a design from the late 19th

century. A typical tong-lau has a balcony and is used for both commercial and residential purposes. The ground floor is usually used for business such as pawnshops or groceries. People live in the upper floors and they are mostly Chinese. In 1903, the government introduced a maximum height per storey of 9 feet (about 2.7 metres). It also limited the building height to four storeys.

Wing Lee Street redevelopmentThe project was one of the 25 projects announced by the government in 1998. Under a

new plan set out in November 2008, three of the street's 12 tong-laus were to be kept. The rest would be pulled down and new low-rise buildings were to be erected. A small plaza will be created at the junction of Wing Lee Street and Shing Wong Street. The Bridges Street Market building will also be renovated. There would be an open space on the rooftop. But according to a new plan announced last Tuesday, all the tong-laus still remain.

The Urban Renewal Authority will go ahead with a To Kwa Wan redevelopment project although it is expecting losses of some HK$700 million. The decision comes after a 54-year-old block at 45J Ma Tau Wai Road collapsed on January 29. It killed four people and injured two others. Two other blocks at 45G and 45H will be pulled down for safety reasons. The area will include 33 blocks of four to six stories. They were built between 1955 and 1957. The site will cover an area of about 3,370 square metres in Ma Tau Wai Road, Hok Yuen Street and Chun Tin Street.

1. What is the advantage of the government developing land with the support of the private sector?

2. Do you think all buildings that are over 50 years old should be replaced?

3. Which is more important, conservation or modernisation?

Points to ponder

WING Lee Street in Central has been saved from demolition. The Hong Kong film Echoes of the Rainbow likely played a big part in it. The street is the backdrop for the

movie. The film carried off the Crystal Bear award at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival last month. During filming, conservation groups asked the moviemakers to sign up to a campaign to preserve the area.

Director Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting said, "People will easily forget the award and box office results of our film. But, the historical site will now stay with us forever. I am elated that the movie was able to help preserve this place. This achievement is much greater than the honours the film has received." The Urban Renewal Authority last Tuesday announced new plans to preserve the street.

Cast and crew of Echoes of the Rainbow.

Conservation groups campaigned to keep the street.

Tong-laus are a special feature of Hong Kong.

Echoes of the rainbow is set in 1960s HK.

Or ig ina l p lans of the Staunton Street Project.

Wing Lee Street to stayWing Lee Street to stay

Collapsed blocks in To Kwa Wan.

Vocabulary backdrop (n) 背景 preserve (v) 保存 elated (adj) 興高采烈的 achievement (n) 成就 astronaut (n) 太空人 typical (adj) 典型的 balcony (n) 露臺 pawnshop (n) 當舖