Your Voice: Hong Kong’s old buildings pose safety risks; Brics challenges Western dominance in global governance (long letters)

Lately, many cases of debris falling from Hong Kong’s ageing buildings have made the headlines. Most notably, a building in Mong Kok had two incidents of falling concrete debris within just 10 days. I walked through the building the day before the first incident took place.

I was shocked. As I dug deeper into the news, it became apparent that the problem of urban decay has remained unresolved for many years. In June 2022, news of cracks appearing on the exterior of Man Ying Building in Jordan went viral. Further images of the interior revealed that the steel in its reinforced concrete was clearly visible, a worrying sign that the building might disintegrate. Such conditions are common in old districts. In 2010, an old building collapsed in Ma Tau Wai, killing four people. Many of these older buildings in Hong Kong are “three-nil” buildings, meaning that they do not have owners’ corporations, residents’ organisations or property management companies. As a result, many of them lack proper maintenance, and they deteriorate more quickly than other buildings.

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This summer, my family and I visited Paris. I couldn’t help but admire the open areas there: the many parks and plazas, along with the wide boulevards. Even smaller streets are wider than their Hong Kong counterparts. Despite their excellent building-health conditions, Parisian buildings are not new at all. Most of the buildings in the centre of Paris were built before World War I, most notably during the mid-19th century, when Emperor Napoleon III ordered the redevelopment of overcrowded and unhealthy neighbourhoods. Many wide boulevards, parks and squares, and sewage treatment facilities were developed under the prefect of Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann. It was then that the definitive style of buildings around the Champs-Élysées was established, and Parisian flats from the Haussmann era remain an icon of Paris. These almost 150-year-old buildings are still kept in a very good state and can remain habitable for many more years to come.

The old districts of Hong Kong are not old at all when compared to Paris. “Our buildings are old” is not a valid excuse to allow such poor health and safety hazards to continue posing a threat to our citizens, as well as poor urban planning which leads to a lack of open spaces. I am glad that the Buildings Department has stepped in to carry out necessary maintenance works on buildings that pose an imminent safety risk, and settle payments later. This could potentially prevent more tragedies of falling debris injuring pedestrians.

Hong Kong is no stranger to tearing down entire city blocks for better urban planning. As an example, when the Kowloon Walled City was torn down in 1993, it was turned into the Kowloon Walled City Park, providing some much-needed recreational space for the crowded areas of Kowloon City, which did not have any significant parks at the time.

In 2021, more than 9,100 buildings in Hong Kong were older than 50 years. It is now a good time to redevelop the older districts of Hong Kong. I look forward to seeing our old districts redeveloped into modern neighbourhoods with more open areas. I can definitely see a bright future, with wider streets, safer buildings and more green spaces.

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Vernon Ha, Phillips Academy Andover (US)

I’m sure that most of you have heard of the Brics group in the news, but what exactly is it? The term “Brics” was first coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001 in a report titled “Building Better Global Economic BRICs.” Initially, BRIC stood for the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, referred to as rapidly developing economies. These countries began informally meeting in 2006, and in 2009 formal summits began. In 2010, South Africa joined the group, making it the Brics it is today.

Unlike Nato, Opec or the World Bank, this group is not an international organisation. Instead, it is a club that aims to provide a platform for members’ governments to cooperate and challenge the world order dominated by the West.

To counter Western dominance, the group lobbies for reform in organisations like the World Bank and the IMF. The group also promotes development in emerging countries. In 2017, they created the New Development Bank, funding projects like hydroelectric plants, electric buses and better water supply in member states. Unlike the World Bank, the New Development Bank does not impose conditions on borrowers, meaning countries do not have to abide by strict rules and reforms when borrowing money. The bank also promotes the use of the national currencies of Brics members instead of the predominant US dollar used in most trade.

Although the group has made progress in creating an alternative to the Western-dominated system, the group is not without challenges. Such a diverse group of countries often have conflicting interests. The group has different political systems, ranging from democracy (India and Brazil) to autocracy (Russia and China). It’s easy to see why they might not share the same political views.

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At its most recent summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Brics decided to add new members to the bloc, more than doubling its size, adding Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These countries will officially join on January 1 next year. The group’s share of world GDP will reach 29 per cent while having nearly half the global population (46 per cent) and doubling its share of global oil production to 43 per cent. This expansion could enhance the collective influence of the Brics group in international affairs and give members access to larger markets.

The West has long dominated the global financial and political systems. The formation of Brics and its expansion offers an alternative approach to global governance. Its collective economic strength and political influence seeks to challenge the status quo, creating a more balanced and equitable international system. While it has the potential to challenge Western dominance, its effectiveness will depend on the cohesion of the group and whether it can overcome internal divisions, which could be challenging.