One in 11 of Hong Kong's historic buildings have been torn down since 1980, official figures released for the first time show.
The figures prompted conservationists to warn of a continuing lack of protection for the city's heritage. They appealed to the government to announce a comprehensive heritage policy as soon as possible.
The Antiquities Advisory Board revealed that 54 out of 607 buildings it had listed since it was set up in 1980 have been demolished.
There are now 496 graded historic buildings and 81 declared monuments. Graded sites have no legal protection and a monument may be knocked down with the chief executive's agreement.
The 54 demolished sites include five grade-one, 23 grade-two and 26 grade-three buildings. Nearly half were government or public buildings, some well known, such as the former HSBC headquarters, La Salle College in Kowloon Tong and the General Post Office in Central.
A senior government source said only a few had been lost since the handover.
Chan Wai-kwan, a former Antiquities Advisory Board member, said: 'The list is a sad reminder of what this city has lost. It underscores how limited the board's role has been in preserving heritage.
