Opinion | Why Carrie Lam’s Lantau Tomorrow Vision should be rebranded ‘Freedom Island’

If the plan to undertake large-scale reclamation to the east of Lantau is to get anywhere, the project badly needs a new name.

The whole idea got off to a bad start when then chief executive Leung Chun-ying introduced the scheme as the East Lantau Metropolis. At that time Leung was already politically unpopular, his personal brand was pretty toxic, so just about anything with his name on it was going to face opposition. But what kind of word is “metropolis” anyway? It sounds like something from a Batman film.

Current chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor revived the idea and made it the centrepiece of her recent policy address, calling it the Lantau Tomorrow Vision. Personally, I quite like the idea of having a chief executive with vision, and the courage to say so out loud in public. But most Hongkongers are a pretty cynical bunch and suspicious of anything which smacks of whimsy. They are in the same camp as former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt who once famously said: “Anybody having visions should consult a doctor.” So a rough ride was pretty much guaranteed.

Putting aside the issue of the name for a moment, we need to look calmly at the project’s advantages and disadvantages. Critics have zeroed in on three main issues: climate change will put all new reclamation at risk; the estimated cost will use up all of our fiscal reserves; the environmental implications, especially for marine habitat, are serious.