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in addition to not changing the rent for such a property, all other existing rights (e.g. granting of small houses, exemption from rate payment) should be maintained;
Land leases granted by the Hong Kong Government should be distinguished from those transacted among the people towards the end of the Qing dynasty. In the former case, the land should be dealt with in accordance with the provisions in Annex III while in the latter, the land should not be subject to any rent since the property rights had been vested in the owners permanently; and
All the land-exchange entitlements held by owners should be settled before 1997. To ensure that the Government honours commitments in this respect, the utility of these entitlements should be expanded by allowing holders to use them to exchange for land in the urban areas in addition to the New Territories.
4.61 The annual restriction of the total amount of new land to be granted to 50 hectares a year was criticized. Despite assurances from government that the quota would be adequate to meet Hong Kong's future needs, the imposition of a ceiling on the amount of land that could be sold was considered as arbitrary and not paying sufficient regard to market conditions. This might also lead to an increase in the price of land.
4.62 As the Annex stated that only land granted to the Hong Kong Housing Authority for public rental housing would be excluded from the quota, so as not to inhibit the development of public projects, it was suggested that new land for social service, education, Home Ownership Schemes, container terminals, Housing Society projects, industrial estates and major public works projects should also be excluded from the calculation of the 50 hectares limit. It was also suggested that this new land grant limit should be administered with flexibility and that the limit should only be interpreted as an average figure for the years up to 1997 in order to allow room for adjusting supply to demand.
4.63 As regards sharing the premium income derived from the sale of land before 1997 equally between the British Hong Kong Government and the future Hong Kong SAR Government, it was considered that this might affect the economic viability of the Hong Kong Government in the transitional period. The taking away of a portion of the revenue might lead to consider- able tax increases in order to meet public expenditure. It was suggested that the premium revenue payable to the Hong Kong SAR Government would serve the public better if it were to be spent on the building up of Hong Kong in the years before 1997.
4.64 As regards the Land Commission, it was suggested that Hong Kong Government officials and experts in land matters should be invited to participate in its work; that some of the most urgent problems should be addressed; that more flexibility in the administration of the land grant quota should be allowed; and that every effort should be made to preserve the principles of a free economy so as to forestall any move towards a "controlled economy".
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