HONG KONG: The Hong Kong sporting community is in an expansive mood these days. With the 5th East Asian Games just around the corner, eyes already are turning toward a bigger event, the 2019 Asian Games.

However, Monday's declaration by the president of the city's Olympic Committee, Fok Tsun-ting, that Hong Kong was considering a bid to host the Asian games has taken much of the sporting community by surprise.

Some are expressing doubts about the feasibility of the 2019 endeavor.

Deputy Secretary General of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong Leung Mee Lee said the proposition made by Fok to bid on 2019 Asian Games has never even been discussed by the Hong Kong Olympic Committee.

"The committee never held meetings to talk about the 2019 Asian Games. Fok's proposition only reflected his own opinion. The Secretary General of the Committee may have heard about it before, but the rest of us did not know about it at all," said Leung.

Leung said a decision to bid on the 2019 Games rests on support from the inner Olympic Committee, as well as consensus in society as a whole. Leung said it's still very early to contemplate hosting the games since no specific proposals have even been discussed.

Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing supported the notion of consensus Monday, saying the support of Hong Kong's citizens is vital to sustain any Asian Games bid. Tsang added the success of the forthcoming EAG would bring Hong Kong the experience to mount a strong presentation for the 2019 games.

Tickets for the EAG are nearly 70 percent sold out. That's a record for the EAG.

"I heard the tickets of the opening ceremony had been sold out. But the truth is, tickets available for public purchase are rather limited," a man surnamed Ho said.

Louie H.T. Lobo, associate professor of the Department of Physical Education at the Baptist University, said he believed there is only a weak sports culture in the city, accounting for a low level of participation in sports among Hong Kong people.

"Physical education was kind of ignored in the colonial era, while the Hong Kong Sports Development Board wasn't established until 1990," he said.

Lobo, nevertheless, believes the government has already made efforts to promote the EAG and the whole sports culture. The current stadium and facilities are already good enough for a city with 7 million people, he said.

However, as for the Asian Games, Lobo was not optimistic.

The scales of the Asian Games and EAG are completely different. "Over 40 countries participate in the Asian Games while only 9 in the EAG," he said.

The Asian Games will require a much higher level of stadiums and facilities. Besides, it will also bring a bigger challenge to the collaboration among different bureaus and departments within the government, Lobo said.

"It is too early to say whether to go for the Asian Games," he said.

Albert Chan Wai-yip, a Legislative Council member, said it was too early to focus on games ten years away when the EAG has not even begun.

(HK Edition 11/25/2009 page1)