IC pledges to ‘realistically restore’ damaged four-century-old city wall

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has pledged that it will restore the severely damaged four-century-old city wall “following its original form, skills and materials.”

The promise was made in a statement issued Friday afternoon, after the landslide on Thursday evening.

To achieve this end, the IC disclosed that it has already restored the wall some years ago. During this restoration, samples of the wall were collected and analyzed. In the statement, the IC said it “is aware of its materials and production methodologies.”

The bureau added that, in future and after the hillside is reinforced, the IC will realistically restore the fallen city wall.

However, with the majority of the city wall being damaged, it is unclear how much the wall can be restored.

The IC emphasized that during discussions about nearby projects, it has issued several opinions and requirements.

The bureau also clarified that a structure found in January this year, which was suspected to be part of the city wall, has been confirmed as not part of the wall.

Several hours after IC’s statement, the Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) and the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) jointly issued a statement to clarify the work that they were doing in response to the landslide.

The preliminary judgment of the DSSCU was that the structure of Ka On Court, a building with a whole wall of a room completely destroyed on impact, was still intact. Additionally, inspections have been carried out on several nearby buildings.

Both bureaus noted that emergency restoration on the landscape had already commenced, but they added that work would be slow due to expected rainfall.

As the site of the landslide is adjacent to a private construction project, that construction has been suspended due to the landslide, although the DSSCU stressed that the original construction had long been approved.