It is crucial that the declaration is done in good time. Lord Kadoorie has agreed that I should pro- ceed on these lines which he supports.'
Analyzing the above text indicates to TARGET: 1. There had to have been a meeting between The Lord Kadoorie and Gus, prior to the drafting of the note to the minion;
2. A determination had been made by Gus to stop the action to demolish the Synagogue, temporarily at least;
3. Gus knew that there were in hand plans for a re-
placement synagogue;
4. Gus knew that the plans for the new synagogue had not at that time been approved in spite of the fact that a Demolition Application had been made; 5. Gus knew at the time that the proposals had not,
officially, been put to the AAB and the Trustees;
6. Gus knew at this time that architects were working on plans for a new synagogue (in fact, it was a rep- lica);
7. Gus used the term 'should' in his paragraph relating to what the declaration should 'announce'. By using this imperative word, it indicates a determination rather than an objective consideration;
8. Gus made the statement that 'Lord Kadoorie has
agreed' and this must indicate that Gus and The Lord Kadoorie had reached some type of meeting of minds.
Some of the above points were reinforced 10 days later when another of Gus's minions, Mrs Ann Kingston, Assis- tant Secretary (Culture), wrote to the then Attorney Gen- eral in the following terms:
On 18 June 1987, the Antiquities Authority, Mr A. K. Chui [this is Gus, in case you have forgot- ten] and the Chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, Mr Jason Yuen, met informally with the
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ohel Leah Synagogue, Lord Kadoorie. At that meeting, Lord Kadoorie advised that he personally would not object to the declaration... on the understanding that the declaration would be withdrawn by the Authority if the developers were able to put for- ward plans for constructing a replica Synagogue elsewhere on the site...'.
What is clearly evident is that as early as May 1987, Gus had made a decision as to what he thought he wanted in respect to the Synagogue.
Now there is nothing wrong with a Government de- partment making a decision: After all, that is the job of the Government, making decisions for us common folk.
But Gus, as head of his Government department, and presumably on behalf of the people of Hongkong -- don't forget, friends and neighbours, Gus works for you -- has gone on record as saying: "...I decided on 24 December 1987 to withdraw the declaration... Right up until 23 De- cember 1987 I kept an open mind throughout as to what my decision should be (in respect to withdrawing the dec- laration)...'
Gus, either by design or accident, has perpetrated a number of falsehoods.
TARGET can see no reason for him to do so since there appeared to be nothing that he could gain by his actions unless a friendship with the only ennobled gen- tleman in Hongkong is to be considered an advantage in furthering the career of Gus?
If Gus has been misjudged by TARGET, and there is that possibility, of course, then his meeting on July 9, 1987 with 2 Trustees of the Synagogue, a member of the property sales agents of Jones Lang Wootton, 2 Execu- tives of Swire Properties Ltd and 2 architects of Swire Properties Ltd must now be a terrible embarrassment for
him.
Because at this meeting, held in his offices in Wanchai, Minutes of the Meeting indicate that the whole matter of the new synagogue was a fait accompli.
He is recorded as saying: "...the solution (to the prob- lems of the Synagogue) should lie in a reasonable com- promise, with due regard to all interests... the declaration of the synagogue as a monument will be understood to be of a temporary nature and not intended to impede the re- development project...'.
So Gus had already decided, it would appear prima facie, that the Synagogue was to go and a new structure was to take its place.
Yet, his affidavit to the High Court, dated April 26,
1988 stated: "... I decided on 24 December 1987 to with-
draw the declaration... Right up until 23 December 1987 I kept an open mind throughout as to what my decision should be...'
Crap!
T
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