Action disappoints Dragon's fans

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of kung fu superstar Bruce Lee.

As a fan of the Hong Kong legend, I'm sad and disappointed - like millions of his admirers - that there's still no sight of a museum in the city where he rose to fame.

We've been patient, but there's still only one statue of Hong Kong's most famous son in the Avenue of Stars.

About two years ago, following a long struggle to save Lee's former home, the green light was finally given for the property to become a museum.

Located at 41 Cumberland Road in Kowloon Tong, the 5,700-square-foot mansion was where Little Dragon spent the last years of his life, before his untimely death 37 years ago on Tuesday at age 32. The building had been converted into a love motel, with rooms rented by the hour, before billionaire Yu Pang-lin bought the property and later handed it over to the Hong Kong government to convert into a museum.

Although no time frame was set, I'd have thought once those plans were put in place, it would take shape quickly and, in no time, Mr Fist of Fury would finally have his own museum here.

But despite the generosity of philanthropist Yu's HK$100 million donation, and the government's efforts through a public contest to select a tailor-made design for the museum, the building remains off-limits to visitors. On any given day, it's become common to see scores of tourists snapping pictures just outside the locked premises. So, why the delay? In this case, I can hardly blame red tape or government bureaucracy. The holdup is procedural wrangling, as the land donation has yet to be processed since Yu wanted to preserve the two-story structure.

Under a recommended plan, the museum would include an exhibition hall, video room, kung fu room, library and souvenir shop. The master plan calls for building a basement, designated to be Yu's charity fund office.

All this posed no problem until a suggestion was made that the basement should be three floors, which would have to be built underground since the two-story building must be preserved.

This poses more than a headache for the authorities, since buildings in Kowloon Tong usually only have one underground floor, mainly for parking and air-conditioning facilities.

So if one wants to build three underground floors, it requires approval from the Town Planning Board. Besides this, problems such as whether the construction will affect the structures of nearby buildings, the environment, and traffic must also be carefully addressed.

According to the plan that won the design contest, it was recommended to build one floor underground. So why insist on the "three-floor" concept?

In fact, the government also reckoned that using the basement as a private office posed a problem. For while it is for charitable purposes, the money would come from taxpayers - setting a bad precedent.

We can only hope both Yu and the government can cooperate despite the constraints, and use their imagination to make the museum possible.

Otherwise, Lee fans will be highly disappointed.

英文虎報
Central Station | By Mary Ma