Government appoints Antiquities Advisory Board Chairman and members
************************************************************

     The Government today (December 19) announced that the Chief Executive had appointed Mr Bernard Charnwut Chan as Chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB).

     The Chief Executive also appointed five new members to the board. They are Dr Anissa Chan Wong Lai-kuen, Ms Lilian Law Suk-kwan, Dr Lee Ho-yin, Dr Tracey Lu Lei-dan and Professor Billy So Kee-long. Seventeen incumbent members were also re-appointed.

     They were appointed under Section 17(1) of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance for a term of two years with effect from January 1, 2009. The appointment was gazetted today.

     The Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, welcomed the appointments and re-appointments.

     "Over the years, the AAB has made significant contributions, and offered valuable advice and suggestions on many important issues, such as Government's new heritage conservation policy and initiatives, the review of the grading system of historic buildings, declaration of heritage sites as monuments and the granting of licences for archaeological excavations. The AAB has also taken a step forward in enhancing its transparency by opening most of its meetings to the public and listening to community views through public hearings on heritage issues of wide community concern.

     "We look forward to working closely with the AAB in taking forward our initiatives in the new term," said Mrs Lam.

     Mrs Lam also expressed appreciation and gratitude to the retiring Chairman, Mr Edward Ho Sing-tin, and seven retiring members for their valuable contributions to the AAB over the past years. Mr Ho has served as Chairman of AAB for almost six years since April 1, 2003.

     The new AAB comprises 23 members (including the Chairman). They are all appointed in their personal capacity.

     A brief biography of the five new members is as follows:

Dr Anissa Chan Wong Lai-kuen
Principal of St Paul's Co-educational College
Member of Administrative Appeals Board
Member of Harbour-front Enhancement Committee

Ms Lilian Law Suk-kwan
Director of the Boys¡¦ and Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong
Member of Transport Advisory Committee
Member of Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Advisory Committee

Dr Lee Ho-yin
Assistant Professor of Architecture, University of Hong Kong

Dr Tracey Lu Lei-dan
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Professor Billy So Kee-long
Professor of History, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Member of the Council of the Open University of Hong Kong

     The full membership of the new AAB is set out below.

Chairman
--------
Mr Bernard Charnwut Chan

Members
-------
Dr Anissa Chan Wong Lai-kuen
Mrs Mariana Cheng Cho Chi-on
Ms Susanna Chiu Lai-kuen
Mr Patrick Fung Pak-tung
Dr Lee Ho-yin
Mr Philip Kan Siu-lun
Mr Kwong Hoi-ying
Mr Andrew Lam Siu-lo
Dr Lau Chi-pang
Ms Lilian Law Suk-kwan
Mr Laurence Li Lu-jen
Professor Bernard Lim Wan-fung
Dr Tracey Lu Lei-dan
Dr Ng Cho-nam
Mr Ng Yat-cheung
Mr Almon Poon Chin-hung
Professor Simon Shen Xu-hui
Professor Billy So Kee-long
Dr Linda Tsui Yee-wan
Ir Dr Greg Wong Chak-yan
Mr Bryan Wong Kim-yeung
Mr Yeung Yiu-chung

Ends/Friday, December 19, 2008
Issued at HKT 11:03

NNNN