Word: lands
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Then there was the West Kowloon Cultural District, a $5 billion greenfield project to build a residential, commercial and cultural complex on 40 hectares of prime harborfront owned by the government. In a city where land is worth its width in gold, the scheme, launched by Tung, ran into legislative gridlock amid concerns of a sweetheart deal for the developer that would be chosen. Critics also questioned the government's wisdom-and expertise-in creating a costly arts hub without first gauging the level of public interest in it. Today, West Kowloon, possibly some of the most valuable real estate...
...administration also lobbied hard to introduce a tax on goods and services, arguing that it needed to diversify its revenue base in case a major source of income, like government land sales, took a hit. But the proposal was roundly opposed by almost every segment of society. Retailers reckoned it would hurt their businesses. Economists believed it would unnecessarily complicate a straightforward tax regimen and deter foreign investors. And ordinary folk felt it would unduly burden low- and middle-income consumers. The government's gambit turned into an embarrassment when Financial Secretary Henry Tang, the moving force behind...
...Tsang does not lack for support. "He's pretty good," says Johnny Lau, 35, an advertising worker taking a cigarette break beneath a campaign billboard for Alan Leong. In Mongkok, on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong harbor-and one of the most densely populated tracts of land on the planet-Rex Lau, 37, who is working in a bicycle-repair shop, echoes the sentiment. "Donald Tsang is doing okay," he allows. But then he adds a rider. "But he basically listens to what people in China want. It's like you have a say, but you don't really...
...working together, sharing information, holding joint events. They are drawing not just politicians but professionals and even some civic-minded businesspeople. These are smart folk who know what buttons to press and levers to pull. Already, by going to court, they have stopped the government from reclaiming even more land from what little harbor we have left. Now they are fighting for a host of causes, from fewer skyscrapers and roads to a minimum wage for low-skilled workers to patients' rights to better education for underprivileged children. With the rich getting richer, these ngos are needed more than ever...
...Even if these theories probably won’t come true, they’re good to keep in mind. Next, they might be coming for us: what do you do with a creature that’s adapted to a world with a lot of dry land...