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英文虎報
Winnie Chong2007-09-15
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Saved from the wrecker's ball
The government on Friday rushed to save a 70-year-old Chinese-style mansion from the wrecker's ball.
However, according to some observers, damage to some of the building's interior may be irreversible.
At the government's request, the Antiquities Advisory Board moved quickly on Friday after it was reported the building on Stubbs Road, King Yin Lei, was undergoing renovation.
It was quickly decided the building should be placed on the proposed monuments list and this will be gazetted on Saturday.
The declaration will be valid for 12 months during which time the building cannot be demolished, altered or changed in any way without permission from the Antiquities Authority.
This will also give the authority the opportunity to consider if the building should be declared a monument and to negotiate possible preservation options with the owner.
Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, speaking after a special meeting with the Antiquities Advisory Board, said the mansion was assessed on Thursday night and was qualified to be listed as a proposed monument.
"All work which may destroy or harm King Yin Lei, including removing tiles, cannot be proceeded with," Cheng said, admitting it was rare for the government to gazette an order on a Saturday.
However, Lam said she did not know when the government could discuss the mansion's future with the owner.
Board chairman Edward Ho Sing- tin said the move to list King Yin Lei as a proposed heritage site was unanimous. King Yin Lei is three-story Chinese-styled mansion with a gross floor area of 25,000 square feet, with the whole site covering 50,000 square feet.
The mansion was said to be undergoing "intensive renovations" when the government decided to act.
According to reporters from Sing Tao Daily, sister publication of The Standard, almost all the roof tiles and the colored-glass windows have been removed, and parts of the roof are covered with canvas.
King Yin Lei's name plaque and some interior walls were also damaged.
Work inside the mansion was continuing even as Lam was announcing the move to put it on the monuments list.
The mansion has reportedly been sold to ICE Wisdom for HK$430 millio in a deal to be finalized next week.
According to a source, King Yin Lei was bought by current owner Stephen Yow Mok-shing's father in 1977 for HK$24 million. Yow is a Canadian resident who stays in the mansion during his vacations and has a full-time gardener. In an interview with Sing Tao, Yow admitted receiving several letters from government departments in 2004 regarding a site visit but said he had not replied to them.
Conservancy Association chairwoman Betty Ho Siu-fong described the government's announcement as a ``late spring.''
She added: ``The government's response was too slow as it only came after renovation work had begun.
Centaline Properties chairman Shih Wing-ching described the government's move as ``unhealthy,'' saying it had moved from one extreme to the other on heritage preservation. winnie.chong@singtaonewscorp.com
文章編號: 200709154480064
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NEWSPAPER:The Standard
DATE:15th,September,2007
TITLE:Saved from the wrecker's ball
MY COMMENT:The news story is talking about King Yin Lei ,a 70-year-old chinese-style mansion,was destroyed by wrecker's ball.And the government saved it on Friday .I think the building must need to be protected by us.Because it has long history .And it is meaningful for us to learn about Chinese culture.We need to try our best to protect the important buildings.We don't destroy and harm them.Second,I think the government need to make law to protect them as soon as possible.
VOCABULARY:

1)gazetted :It is meaning that advertise in an official newspaper; advertise in official publications
2)proceeded : continue, carry on; advance, progress
3)admitting : confess (to something); introduce, allow entrance
4)mansion : huge house, estate
5)observers : spectator; onlooker; one who watches; guard
6)interior : internal part; inside; national internal affairs; inland internal, inner, inside,pertaining to the interior (design, decoration, etc.)
7)proposed : suggest, recommend; tender; make an offer of marriage
8)monument : statue, memorial
9)declaration : proclamation, statement((名) 宣告, 宣佈, 說明 )
10)demolished:destroy, ruin, tear down (v)