Pro-Beijing heavyweight wants govt to scrape waste-charging scheme, focus on economic revival

Pro-Beijing heavyweight Lo Man-tuen wrote in a newspaper Monday that the SAR government should scrape the city’s waste-charging scheme, allowing the city to focus on economic development.

Hong Kong has launched a trial run of the long-delayed municipal solid waste charging scheme at more than a dozen premises since April, while the implementation day for the scheme has been postponed to August 1.

Lo, a former vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, said the “chaos” seen in the trial run has reflected that the city is far from ready for the waste-charging scheme.

Read more: Waste-charging trial run sees low participation rates

He proposed authorities to consider again another postponement or scrape the scheme once and for all, enabling the administration and society to turn their focus on economic development.

Lo noted that after the enactment of local legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law, the government's primary focus is on promoting development.

However, many members of society are concerned that the ongoing controversy over the waste charging scheme will overshadow the development agenda in Hong Kong, he said.

“If the scheme hinders the government's shift in focus on key working areas, it is unlikely to be in line with the central government's expectations,” Lo wrote.

Lo emphasized that the government is only putting the scheme on hold, rather than neglecting the principles of environmental protection.

He said Hong Kong needs to break free from the moral constraints of environmentalism and determine a feasible path that aligns with the city's reality in terms of both environmental protection and development.