THE UNIQUENESS OF SAN TIN-FROM
3. VIEWPOINT
■ A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT VIEWPOINT
3.1 The San Tin Village people obviously do not want to see their ancestral village and traditions broken-up by developers. More importantly, they now appreciate that their traditional environment can only be preserved and improved (i.e., pollution controlled, family grave sites respected, woodlands preserved, heritage protected, etc.) through village expansion along Government-approved policy lines, and through comprehensive planned development. Development in which they need to play a part
3.2 The village people have proven that they collectively need, want, and are eager to work for village-based new development in San Tin.3 This, coupled with the fact that these same villagers control by far the majority of the privately-held land sur- rounding their village (and coincidently, within their 4 square mile watershed region), thus for the moment controlling the comprehensive development (and water pollu- tion control) potential of their land, led the San Tin villagers to consider their own community future.
3.3 From a "comprehensive regional development potential" standpoint, San Tin is
unique in the following:
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Its relatively low fill requirements essentially all of which can be balanced within (or immediately adjacent to) the San Tin watershed region;4
The proposed site is bisected by major regional road, water and electrical utility arteries;5
San Tin has regionally famous views and "fung shui" hill and woodland aspects; In its position on the New Territories/Chinese International Boundary;
In its proximity to the newly double-tracked Kowloon-Canton rail line ( 8 kilometres) and its subsequent 44 minute combined commuting time between San Tin and Central District, Hong Kong Island;
In its historic monuments; and
In the remarkably untouched condition of San Tin village cultural traditions, environment, and townscapes, and most importantly, the almost total control/ ownership of private land within the San Tin watershed by the Man Family."
*See Volume 2, Chapter 2 for details.
1A "lineal village" is a traditional Chinese form of community in which all village (or Clan) members bear the same surname. (All male family members marrying girls from other villages; most females, marrying "outsiders" from other non-lineage villages.) in the case of San Tin, most villagers bear the surname "Man."
2 See James L. Watson book "Emigration and the Chinese Lineage: The Mans in Hong Kong and in
London" for this and other details on the history and cultural uniqueness of San Tin.
3
*See "village housing" development aspects in Volume 2, Chapter 7 for details.
4 See "Engineering Feasibility Report" in Volume 2, Appendix Section 2 for details.
$ For more complete details on all of these aspects, See Volume 2 Chapter 2, and the engineering Appendix report.
Tai Fu Tai - Proposed Historic Monument
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❝See Page 8 for a daigram of local land holdings.
2