The Standard is reporting this morning that the Lantau super prison poised to get green light. I guess Tung is proving to Beijing that HK is an executive-led governmnet and can push through programs that are uniformly opposed by the people that it effects. Once again the folks in Central think of us as residents of "underlying islands".

Lantau island residents blasted the proposal, saying the prison at Hei Ling Chau and a planned 2.2-kilometre bridge from Mui Wo should be scrapped in favour of other sites in the New Territories.

``The consultation so far has been negligible,'' Green Lantau Association spokesman Clive Noffke said.

``All they've asked us is `which of the reclamation options do you like best?' It's basically asking which of your fingers you want chopped off?''

...

Living Islands Movement spokesman Tom Masterson said Hei Ling Chau is the wrong site.

``They could save HK$6 billion by putting it anywhere on the mainland,'' he said. ``What they should be doing is looking at alternative sites.''

The public's views are being sought by the Civil Engineering Department until July 31, before its officials return to the Legislative Council, probably in November, to request funding for the study's second stage.

Another costly white elephant project based upon bad assumptions about population growth and associated crime increases. The prison might not be in the backyard of Central, but the rest of Hong Kong will pay in increased taxes for the reclamation work and bridges and chartered ferries. And remember that aerial photo of Disney HK showing Hei Ling Chau on the other side of Peng Chau? This will be another nail in the coffin of the livelihood of local fishermen.

Photo I took last year of map showing exploratory work for the Hei Ling Chau prison (click on the image for a larger view)