Heritage | ANM threaten ‘consequences’ if regulation is ignored

ANM president, Scott Chiang (center left) and vice president Jason Chao (center right)

New Macau Association (ANM) leaders returned from a meeting with UNESCO officials in Paris last week with a stern warning for the government: Halt the construction of a controversial residential project in the Historic Center of Macau or face “consequences” from the international community.

Last week, ANM president Scott Chiang and vice presidents Jason Chao and Sulu Sou met with the director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, Mechtild Rössler, to express concern over what they consider to be a violation of the heritage regulations designed to protect Macau’s historic center.

During a press conference held on Saturday, ANM leaders said that Rössler had evaluated the case as clear-cut. They claim that the leader from the United Nation’s heritage division said that if the plans for the unfinished building can be still be amended then they ought to be.

Moreover, Jason Chao threatened that “if the Macau government fails to give a satisfactory response [to UNESCO enquiries], there will be consequences.”

The concern stems from a controversial residential project near the Guia Fortress. The fortress, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Historic Centre of Macau, contains a 17th-century military fort, chapel and lighthouse, located in the center of the peninsula.

With the construction of the residential project halted since 2008, the unfinished structure towers more than 81 meters over the street level of Calçada do Gaio, far surpassing the area’s height cap of 52.5 meters, which seeks to protect the area’s heritage.

Construction on the building began prior to the introduction of the 52.5-meter height limit imposed in the area surrounding the Guia Fortress. When the decree was implemented, the residential project already exceeded 81 meters in height.

The project was subsequently delayed for eight years while developers and authorities tried to settle the matter. In recent months, various government officials, including the director for the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau, Li Cangfeng, have asserted that the developers will be permitted to resume construction work on the unit.

While the government says developers will not be required to demolish the almost 30 meters of construction currently exceeding the height cap, they will also not be permitted to complete the building’s initial plan of 126 meters above street level.

Local authorities have also appealed to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in Beijing for further “instructions” on the matter, the president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng, informed reporters last week.

Group rallies behind heritage

ANM appears to have taken a firmer stance on culture and heritage issues since Scott Chiang assumed presidency of the group in September 2015.

Last year, ANM submitted a report to UNESCO claiming that the local government had been inadequate in its efforts to protect the city’s cultural heritage in the face of rapid urban development.

Chiang was then arrested in August, 2016 on suspicion of being behind the hoisting of a banner on the derelict Hotel Estoril, which accused Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam of being a “heritage killer”.

The incident was staged to confront a decision taken by the government and the Cultural Heritage Council to demolish the hotel, after they determined it held no historical or cultural worth.

Upon Chiang’s re-election as president earlier this year, the ANM leader called for a concentration of the group’s resources on “a few key issues,” as they had previously “spent a lot of time chasing a lot of different issues relating to society.”

It remains to be seen whether heritage will feature prominently on ANM’s ticket for the Legislative Assembly election next year.