Hong Kong Legislative Council Building

The predecessor of the Hong Kong Legislative Council building is the Supreme Court building, which was decided by the Legislative Council on February 28, 1898. The building was designed by Aston Webb and ingress bell, the consultant architects of the Commonwealth acquisition agency. The construction of the building started in 1900 and the foundation was laid in 1903. Due to the lack of masons and suitable granite, the project was not completed until 1912.

Hong Kong Legislative Council Building

The predecessor of the Hong Kong Legislative Council building is the Supreme Court building, which was decided by the Legislative Council on February 28, 1898. The building was designed by Aston Webb and ingress bell, the consultant architects of the Commonwealth acquisition agency. The construction of the building started in 1900 and the foundation was laid in 1903. Due to the lack of masons and suitable granite, the project was not completed until 1912.

It is the seat of the Hong Kong Court of final appeal.

The Legislative Council Building of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which was severely damaged by violence on July 1, 2019, continued to maintain the red warning and suspend its opening on July 4. Liang Junyan, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said on the same day that the fire protection, security and communication systems of the Legislative Council building had been seriously damaged.

Building history

The Hong Kong Legislative Council building, located at 8 Jackson Road, central, Hong Kong, is the current meeting place of the Hong Kong Legislative Council.

On January 15, 1912, the Supreme Court was opened by the governor of Hong Kong, Lu Jia. At that time, the chief inspector general once said: "even if the Victorian City no longer exists, the harbor is blocked by mud, and the Hong Kong Club collapses and disappears, this building will still stand tall like a pyramid and witness the wisdom of the Far East." Because the English word "court" is similar to the Cantonese word "Ge", the Supreme Court building is also commonly known as "Da Ge Lou". There were only three courts at the beginning of the opening of the court, which was criticized as a great waste. At that time, the court was presided over by a chief justice and a Supreme Court judge. If anyone disagreed with the judgment of one of them, they formed a collegial panel to hear the appeal.

During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the building was transformed into the headquarters of the Hong Kong gendarmerie, with additional facilities such as detention rooms. After the war, the number of judges increased significantly. In the 1970s, the Supreme Court built additional compartments to accommodate a total of seven courts, which was not enough for local use. Therefore, the Supreme Court planned to move. In 1978, due to the impact of the mass transit railway project on Chater Road, the structure of the Supreme Court building was damaged and needed to be closed for emergency repair. The Supreme Court then moved to the Victoria District Court and then to the current site of Queensway Court Road in 1984.

From 1983 to 1985, the Supreme Court building was rebuilt for the purpose of meeting and office of the Legislative Council. The exterior of the building was listed as a statutory monument in 1984. The Legislative Council building was opened and its first meeting was held on 30 October 1985 under the chairmanship of governor Youde.

After the handover of Hong Kong sovereignty in 1997, the building was renamed as the Legislative Council building with the change of name of the legislature.

In 2015, the Hong Kong Court of final appeal moved into the former Legislative Council building, which is now the office building of the Hong Kong Court of final appeal.

Architectural features

The building adopts the neoclassical architectural style and imitates the architectural design of ancient Rome and Greece. There are about 17 meters high Ionian columns around the building and a dome in the center. The grand appearance is impressive.

At the same time, the building also combines the characteristics of Chinese architecture. The four slope roof of the building is paved with double-layer Chinese tiles, and the eaves are supported by elaborately carved Chinese teak brackets. To cope with the subtropical monsoon climate in Hong Kong, an arcade is built on the ground floor of the building and a terrace is built on the first floor, which can not only prevent direct sunlight from shining on the interior of the building, but also facilitate ventilation and heat dissipation.

Lintel statue

The central porch of the building facing the Statue Square is decorated with a triangular lintel (a neoclassical architectural feature) and engraved with the inscription "erected ad mdcccx" (erected in 1910).

At the top of the window is the Royal shield: Three Lions are engraved on the top left and the bottom right, representing England; a lion on the top right represents Scotland; and a harp on the bottom left represents Ireland. The shield is protected by the lion of England and the unicorn of Scotland, with a crown carved on the top and the inscription "Dieu et mon droit" of the supreme ruler engraved on the bottom. The statues on both sides of the royal coat of arms symbolize pity and truth.

On the top of the frieze stands a 2.7-meter-high statue of Themis (English: Themis; Greek: Θ μ ι), who holds a Libra representing justice in her right hand and a sword symbolizing power in her left. The goddess's blindfold shows that the spirit of law is impartial and fair.

The highest point of the building is the bronze Tudor crown sculpture, which was adopted by King Edward VII in 1902.

Internal facilities

The era of the Supreme Court

·Five entrances for different users: the central entrance to Queen's Statue Square is for prisoners only (closed after the Legislative Council moves in); the two entrances to Jackson road are for registrars, clerks and judges only (changed to members and staff entrances after the Legislative Council moves in). The ground floor is equipped with a field office, a service counter, a cell, a reception room and a police officer's office Waiting room, bailiff's room.

·There is an indoor viaduct in the basement, which connects the prisoner reception room with the court on the first floor. It is called "Naihe bridge".

·There used to be three two-story courts on the first floor. After several renovations, there are seven courts on the first and second floors.

·In the 1970s, the Grand Court on the first floor was converted into a library

Existing facilities

·It covers an area of about 300 square meters and is a conference hall for all members to hold meetings

·Conference Hall

·3 meeting rooms (named after letters a, B and C)

·Banquet hall

·Chairman's Office

·Member's Office

·Staff office

·Executive Suite

·Press room

·Press conference room

·Radio room

Future development

Due to the limited area of the Legislative Council building, it is not only unable to meet the need of increasing the number of seats due to the future political development, but also the existing office facilities such as the member's office, the Legislative Council Secretariat, the research department and the library are scattered in different locations, causing considerable administrative inconvenience. Therefore, the proposal to move the building of the law society has been put forward before and after the transfer of sovereignty.

With the gradual improvement of Hong Kong's economy, the chief executive, Mr Donald Tsang, announced in his 2005-2006 policy address that he would resume the development plan of building a new government headquarters and Legislative Council building on Tamar. The total cost of the project is HK $5168.9 million. The proposed legislative council complex, with a total floor area of 36230 square meters, includes 89 seat assembly hall, five conference rooms and three press rooms. The Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved the relevant funding on June 23, 2006. The project is to be re tendered. The project is expected to start in mid-2007 and be completed by the end of 2010.

After the Asian financial crisis in 1998, the Hong Kong SAR government abandoned the auction of the Tamar site and planned to build a new government headquarters and Legislative Council building instead. After years of discussion and review, the government agreed to implement the plan in 2002 and invited interested parties from all over the world to submit expressions of interest and design concepts. However, affected by the SARS incident, the government shelved its application to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in May 2003 for funding for the project. In November of the same year, it officially announced the postponement of the Tamar Development Project.

Regarding arrangements for the relocation of the Legislative Council building, the chief justice of the Hong Kong Court of final appeal, Li Guoneng, publicly proposed in January 2006 that the court of final appeal should be relocated to the Legislative Council building. In the past, some people suggested that the building should be transformed into a museum. There is no final conclusion yet.

Other conference venues

Before the Supreme Court building was converted into the Legislative Council building, the Legislative Council meeting space in Hong Kong was as follows:

Hong Kong government headquarters

·Old central government offices (1930-1941, 1945-1957) · central government offices (1957-1985)

Due to the breakdown of the negotiations between China and Britain on the arrangements for political transition, the first government selection committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region established by the Preparatory Committee of the National People's Congress of the people's Republic of China elected the Provisional Legislative Council in December 1996. In order to avoid the existence of two legislatures in Hong Kong at the same time, the daily operation and meetings of the Provisional Legislative Council before the handover of sovereignty were held in Shenzhen. The venues that have been temporarily used as meeting places of the Provisional Legislative Council are as follows:

·Main hall of Shenzhen Huaxia Art Center (December 1996 to June 1997)

·New wing of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (1 July 1997)

Governor's residence

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Gang Li Fa Hui Da Lou