頭條日報 頭條網 - Ａ holiday home for families in subdivided flats by Michael Chugani

Many conservationists say the Fanling Lodge should be preserved. Even former Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong recently urged for the preservation of the Fanling Lodge. He revealed that Chinese, British and Hong Kong officials had used the Fanling Lodge as a secret meeting place in the 1980s to talk about the return of Hong Kong to China. The word lodge can be used in many ways but in this case it means a holiday house away from the city. Hong Kong's colonial governors used the Fanling Lodge to relax. After Hong Kong's return to China, the chief executives also used it as a holiday home.

        I agree that the Fanling Lodge has great historical value and should be conserved even though the government may take back the adjacent Fanling golf course to create land for housing. I went to the Fanling Lodge when Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was chief executive to film a TV documentary about him. It is a beautiful, relaxing house with a very big garden. A conservationist is a person who supports protecting things, such as historical buildings or the environment. It comes from the word “conserve”. The word “preserve” has a similar meaning. It means to keep something in its original form. The word “adjacent” means next to or joined to. The Fanling Lodge is next to the Fanling golf course.

        Some people want to preserve the Fanling golf course too. I disagree with that. It takes up a lot of land and is used mostly by rich people. The Hong Kong Golf Club pays the government just $1 a year for the land even though its members are among Hong Kong's richest people. The government should take the land back for housing. But what should the government do with the Fanling Lodge if it decides to preserve it? I don’t think the chief executive should continue using it as a holiday home. It should become a holiday home for families in subdivided flats. They can take turns using it for a few days. They will then know what it feels like to live like a chief executive.

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        不少保育人士（conservationists）認為粉嶺別墅（Lodge）應該被保留（preserved）。前金融管理局總裁任志剛，最近也要求保留（preservation）粉嶺別墅（Lodge）。他披露原來中國、英國及香港官員曾於一九八○年代以粉嶺別墅（Lodge）作為秘密會議地點，討論香港回歸中國事宜。Lodge這個字有多種用法，但這裏解作度假別墅。香港殖民時期的港督就會在粉嶺別墅（Lodge）休息。香港回歸中國以後，行政長官也有把它用作度假屋。

        我認同粉嶺別墅（Lodge）有很重要的歷史價值，即使政府要收回毗鄰（adjacent）粉嶺哥爾夫球場建屋，也應該好好保存（conserved）它。當曾蔭權還是特首時，我曾經到訪粉嶺別墅（Lodge），拍攝有關他的電視紀錄片。那是個很美麗、令人很舒暢的屋宇，有一個廣闊的花園。Conservationist就是力主保護歷史建築或環境的人，來自conserve這個字，與preserve意思相近，就是以其原有模樣保留。Adjacent就是相鄰或者相接的，粉嶺別墅（Lodge）就在粉嶺高球場旁邊。

        也有些人希望保存（preserve）粉嶺高球場，這我就不敢苟同了。高球場用上大幅土地，而且主要給富豪使用。香港高爾夫球會租用這片土地，每年僅付一元給政府，即使它的成員都是香港最富有的人。政府好應該為着房屋需求收回土地。但政府要是決定保留（preserve）粉嶺別墅（Lodge），又該怎樣使用？我不認為特首應該繼續把它當私人度假屋，而是開放予住在劏房的家庭度假，每家庭輪流使用數天。他們就會知道，當特首是怎樣的滋味了。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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Source: http://news.hkheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=250397§ion_name=wtt&kw=126