Govt tries to feel people's pulse on Asian Games bid

Diverse views will enable us to understand public opinion: Tsang

Bidding for the 2023 Asian Games is an opportunity not to be missed, Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing said Friday. He also said the exercise of consulting the public as to whether Hong Kong should make the bid is genuine and that opposition is expected.

The SAR government announced earlier this week that it intends to bid for the 2023 Asian Games, penciling in a total cost of an estimated HK$14.5 billion. However, public opinion is not altogether encouraging, with many people posting dissenting messages on the Home Affairs Bureau website.

Speaking at a radio show, Tsang said diverse views could help the government understand public opinion. Since no other mainland city is going to bid, he believed Hong Kong will have the Central Government's full support.

As to suggestions that the total expenditure will be over HK$40 billion, he said a huge portion of the expenditure is intended for construction of new stadiums / facilities and upgrading of existing facilities.

Some facilities have been planned already for local use and they will be built whether or not Hong Kong hosts the Asian Games, he explained.

The amount of money involved should be considered as a long-term investment to promote sports development and enhance Hong Kong as a world-class city, he said. Hosting the Asian Games is not frightening, like "a deluge or a monster" because it will bring about tangible benefits, as well as intangible benefits that money cannot measure.

As for the athletes' village, the government has not decided whether to build it by itself or let the private developers do the job.

Yan Jinhong, associate professor of the Chinese University's department of sports science and physical education, said Hong Kong is fully capable of hosting the Asian Games.

Financially, there is no problem given Hong Kong's handsome fiscal reserves, said Yan. Although many sports facilities are needed, the city has 13 years to build the hardware, he added.

The money invested will yield benefits since local people and students can enjoy the sport facilities when the games are over, he commented. Not many Asian cities have hosted the Asian Games, while a successful bid will enhance Hong Kong's visibility on the world map, he said.

Quoting the Beijing experience, Yan said many people opposed building the Bird's Nest (i.e. the National Stadium) for the 2008 Olympic Games. The operation of the facility has proven profitable, he added, yielding about 100 million yuan per year.

China Daily

(HK Edition 09/25/2010 page1)