Queen's Pier does not possess the requisite historical, archaeological or palaeontological significance for it to be declared as a monument under the Antiquities & Monuments Ordinance, Secretary for Home Affairs Dr Patrick Ho says.

He said he has thoroughly considered the research and analyses conducted by the Antiquities & Monuments Office on the pier's heritage value, the views expressed by various concern groups and individuals, and other factors.

"Using the historical buildings which have been declared as monuments as a yardstick, it is plain that the threshold of historical, archaeological or palaeontological significance qualifying a building as a monument is very high indeed and the selection criteria very stringent," he said.

"Up to now, there are only 63 historical buildings which have been declared as monuments across Hong Kong, all of which are pre-war buildings with relatively longer building age and with significant historical value."

Historical significance

Dr Ho agreed that Queen's Pier possessed a certain historical significance as it bears a testimony to the colonial rule of Hong Kong, but it falls short of the requirements for it to be declared a monument.

"There are currently a lot of pre-war historical buildings which bear testimony to Hong Kong's colonial past and have higher historical value, when compared with Queen's Pier," he said.

As for building characteristics, Dr Ho said in terms of design, decoration and craftsmanship, Queen's Pier also compared less favourably with other similar structures or structures belonging to the same period in terms of its impact on and importance for the architectural development in Hong Kong.

On the Antiquities Advisory Board's grading system of built heritage, Dr Ho said it is an internal mechanism with no statutory basis. The grading aims to identify and compare the heritage value of historical buildings. The grading made no specific requirement on how the building should actually be preserved, which will depend on such factors as its structure, condition, features as well as technical feasibility.

Best possible option

Dr Ho said: "Therefore, even for a Grade I building which is defined as 'of outstanding merit, in which every effort should be made to preserve if possible', it does not necessarily mean the building has to be preserved in situ. So long as the preservation option of Queen's Pier is one which represents the best possible effort to preserve the pier, this is not incompatible with its status as a Grade I historical building.

"The grading system and the declaration of monuments are two distinct mechanisms and there are no automatic links between them. In fact, not all Grade I buildings would automatically be declared monuments, and not every declared monument must first be accorded Grade I status. There are 151 buildings which have been accorded Grade I historical building status by the board. Among them, only 28 have been declared monuments."