Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link
Is it ethical to build the Emergency Rescue Station at the cost of destroying Choi Yuen Village?
Introduction
The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) is an express railway to be opened in phases between 2011 and 2016. It will connect Kowloon, Hong Kong in the south and Panyu, Guangzhou, Guangdong in the north.
The Express Rail Link will be divided into two sections, the Guangshen section with four to six stations, and the Hong Kong Section, with one station.
The 26-km long Hong Kong Section starts from West Kowloon of Hong Kong to the boundary of Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The Express Rail Link connects with the 16,000km National High-speed Railway Network. This project is believed to enhance Hong Kong as the southern gateway to the Mainland and help to promote Hong Kong’s tourism.
Hong Kong Government who will subsidize $64 billion of the cost is going to work with the MTR Corporation in this project. During the planning stage of the Hong Kong section, MTR proposed to set up an Emergency Rescue Station and the ideal site for it will be in Shek Kong where the Choi Yuen Village is located.
This proposal, however, triggered a huge reverberation from the society especially from the affected party-Choi Yuen Villagers. They went on strike to protest against the proposal which will take apart their village.
The government and the MTR Corporation was found in an ethical dilemma if to build the station in the interest of economic benefit it will bring in the future but at the cost of demolishing the village that is home to so many villages.
Comic strip to illustrate the story
Approaches to ethical decision making
1. Utilitarian Approach
According to the article “Business ethics: Approaches to Ethical Decision Making”, it defines the utilitarian approach as “focuses on taking the action that will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”
In our case of Choi Yuen Village at the New Territories in Hong Kong, many passengers can definitely be benefited from getting the railway ride from China Express Rail Link. The most attractive marketing strategy is that the travelling time of passengers can be largely shorten. Thus, there will be an increase in the number of passengers taking the ride which helps blooming the revenue of tourism in both Hong Kong and cities in China. Besides, the project can definitely develop better railway system which helps to improve the economic development such as provide more job opportunities which helps to lower the unemployment rate.
The only thing which villagers concern most is the project development will change their original living styles who have been staying for many years. Besides, the project will destroy the ecosystem and natural environment of Choi Yuen Village which will harm the animals and citizens who live in this area.
After balancing all good and bad consequences, it is ethical to carry this project since it gives the greatest benefit to MTR Corporation and the society, at the same time, it only affects the smallest number of people with the least costs to the society.
2. Moral Rights
According to the article “Business ethics: Approaches to Ethical Decision Making”, it defines the moral rights approach as “concerns itself with moral principles, regardless of the consequences. Some actions are simply considered to be right or wrong.”
In our case, building the China Express Rail L:ink at Choi Yuen Village can help to boost up the economy by promoting the easy transportation and excellent service. It can definitely help the economy grows in terms of government revenue like tourism or logistics.
On the other hand, it also destroys the ecosystem and natural environment of Choi Yuen Village which damages can not be measured quantitatively. Besides, the collective memories of Choi Yuen Villagers will be destroyed badly since their original living places have been modified to be a commercial project. This is a psychological damage which cannot be calculated and compensated. In terms of the food chain, it also greatly affects the health of animals and human beings which may result in global warming or breakage of food chain.
As a result, it is unethical to do the project.
3. Cost-Benefit
According to the article “Business ethics: Approaches to Ethical Decision Making”, it defines the cost-benefit approach as “balance the costs and benefits of taking versus not taking a particular action.”
In our case, the costs of building the China Express Rail Link are of huge development budgets and the damage to the natural environment. However it can bring us with huge revenue as well in terms of tourism and logistics. At the same time, it helps to improve the living conditions of villagers as well as promoting more job opportunities which results in the increase of productivity for the society.
On the other hand, if not building the high-speed railway, there will be a loss of opportunity to make the profits from this project. By balancing between the costs and benefits, the projects can help the government and the MTR Corporation to make profits after finish this project which can cover all the development and opportunity costs.
As a result, it is ethical to carry out this project.
Approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR)
1. Caring for company staff and their families
From the definition, “this is the most widespread perception of CSR which includes two approaches – the paternalistic approach and the innovative approach; the former sees the ‘the employer as benefactor’ and the latter focuses on qualification and training, as well as social investment (insurance and loan benefits), which enhance the capacity, professional and social capital of employees.”
In our case, the construction project development will greatly affect the health of workers during the industrial process. The MTR Corporation should take good care of their workers such as maintain good working conditions with good hygiene and good training on their safety skills, the working hours should not be too long, buy the safety insurances for protecting the benefits of their workers in case if any accidents occur.
2. Social activities benefiting the local community
As a rule, these actions are not part of the long-term strategy of companies and decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. Activities include improvements in the urban environment, public relations interests with a social impact, and support for orphans, children and elderly people in institutions.
In our case, the project can definitely benefits the local community. Not only provide one more transportation choice for the public, it also provides an opportunity for people to travel around with lower ticket price and shorten travelling time. Besides, most elderlies or patients who are not able to take the flight, now can take the railway ride across the China rather than travelled by flights.
3. Activities with a long-term social impact, such as social investment:
This approach is taken by large foreign companies who have a corporate policy in place and are implementing coherent, long-term strategies and policies.
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In our case, carrying out this project is a long-term social investment. Apart from developing the better railway system to improve the economic development, it also helps the society by providing more job opportunities which results in the decrease of unemployment rate. It is important because it can reduce a lot of social problems like the social welfare or social subsidies.
Leadership & Dilemmas @ Choi Yuen Village
There is always NO clear cut solution in dealing with dilemmas of managing business in the global context. Dilemmas exist simply because of a certain kind of conflict between the rightness or wrongness of the actions and the goodness or badness of the consequences of the actions.
If doing what is right produces something bad, or if doing what is wrong produces something good, the force of moral obligation may seem balanced by the reality of the good end. We can have the satisfaction of being right, regardless of the damage done; or we can aim for what seems to be the best outcome, regardless of what wrongs must be committed. Then it comes to our real-life case questions that “should the government decisively take back the land and build the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) without listening to the ideas and caring the needs of the people concerned?” That means a way against democracy. How should the Hong Kong government present its leadership qualities and capabilities in managing business dilemmas in a more global ways of means?
Choi Yuen Village is a very special but difficult case to tell the story of “leadership”. It is just too complicated and involved so many people and things. Ideally, what international leaders should possess are,
- Cognitive skills (ability to see things in many different ways, and self-knowledge as ability to understand and manage oneself);
- Emotional resilience (ability to maintain confidence and objectivity under difficult circumstances);
- Personal drive (determination to succeed, to be proactive and take personal risks).
In Choi Yuen Village, the Hong Kong government is supposed to see things in many different angles. What the villagers want is vivid, the government can’t simply suppress and force the villagers to hand in the land, the “leader” should at least consider the basic needs and demands of the people who originally live in there, otherwise would trigger off serious anti-eviction struggle. In the difficult circumstances as Choi Yuen Village’s protests, indeed, the government started consulting district councils, the Heung Yee Kuk and relevant rural committees about the railway in May 2008. This seems liberal. However, the construction of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) is doomed at the very beginning. The government determined to succeed in acquiring this land.
In July 2009, over 100 villagers, with support from several HK students and activists, have been petitioning the government to amend the course of the rail line to run through any of three uninhabited neighboring areas. The petition collected over 10,000 signatures, but the government has still rejected to meet with the villagers or think about their demands. The consultation and anti-eviction struggle of the Choi Yuen Village have been lasted for several years. What I want to comment on this point is that Hong Kong government is putting itself into a dilemma in this issue. The way it did isn’t following exactly what the American great leaders do – the democratic mean, or the Chinese leaders do – a paternalistic view of leadership, which requires complete loyalties from its followers and people.
Leadership in ChinaThe Chinese paternalistic view of leadership
Since the introduction of the ‘open door’ policy in 1978, China has made significant progress in all aspects. Rapid economic development has sped up the urbanization of the country. In 1995, there were 640 cities in China. At the end of 1999 the number increased to 667. The high rate of urbanization has led to great demand for land for infrastructure and property developments. In order to obtain more developable land, the government has implemented various measures, including compulsory land acquisitions to meet the demand.
Tragically, the prevalent demolition of housing in recent years has triggered protests, riots and suicides.
In an incident that has attracted much media attention, Tang Fuzhen, a successful female entrepreneur from Chengdu in Sichuan Province, climbed to her roof and set herself on fire to protest the government’s violent and forceful demolition of her home on Nov. 13. When she died from her injuries on Nov. 29, the authorities characterized her protest as “violent resistance to the law.” Her husband and son as well as a dozen relatives were also wounded and/or arrested by the police.
On December 14, Xi Xinzhu of Beijing self-immolated in an attempt to stop the approach of officials, police, and demolition workers. Xi is still in critical condition.
On December 16, Zhang Qiang set the roof of a three-story building in Shanghai on fire and attempted to self-immolate to protest forced demolition. Zhang was unable to save his home.
Before the updated regulations of resumption and compensation of house on state-owned lands on January 2011, some places have acted beyond the power they are granted by legislation, seizing and demolishing housing on their own by using violence or coercion. Moreover, illegally cutting water and power supplies were used in the relocation work. Worse still, the compensation of expropriated homes was always determined by the local government. In order to obtain the optimal gains from the sale of land, they usually pay the victims with the lowest price. Not only do the Property Rights Law and the Circular on Economic Acceleration conflict, and limit the rights of those looking to file suit [about wrongful demolition].
Although the new issued rules aims to put an end to forced demolitions in cities without due process and fair compensation, Many Chinese commentators are still uncertain how much anything will change. Furthermore, giving more power to courts to adjudicate eviction-related disputes is unlikely to help. Local courts operate effectively as arms of local government.
Undoubtedly, profit allocation, privileged authority and insider trading are the primary issues which faced by the China in economic development. It is understandable that certain level of demolition is necessary for economic development. It is important for la civilized local government to execute with lawful, reasonable, sentiment concerned rules. Frankly speaking, the darkness side of China has rooted for many decades. The occurrence of numerous tragedies implies that citizens did not trust their leader. They prefer to protect their homes by themselves even though they did not have much power.
Hong Kong – managing the Choi Yuen Village’s case
As for the Hong Kong government, they also failed to handle the demolition issue although they have long strived to be conscientious and responsible. To fairly compensate the villagers, Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng said compensation will be based on existing policies, but will include "special arrangements" depending on "individual circumstances."For example, the existing compensation policy, Class C farmlands will be compensated at HK$200 per square foot while those at Class A will get HK$500 psf. Some concern groups pointed out that compensation for crops is based on their market price was emphasized by government. However, the “market price” is actually based on the wholesale price from Vegetables Marketing Organization that was lower than the retail price. More than that, the compensation for young crops is based on the weight instead of quality which is considered as depriving of the villagers. Besides, government has not done much on the relief of the concern of sentimental and livelihood factors.
2010.11.13 - Final call for defending Choi Yuen Village
To deal with any dilemma, what leaders should have is empathy and caring. It is essential for leader to deeply understand and respond the sacrifice under development. A fair compensation is a must to guarantee the livelihood of the influenced will not have a substantial change. As mentioned above, the sentimental factor is another issue for the arrangement, as the official do not grow up in there, they have to put more effort in communicating with the residents to learn more their depression so that they would have better tailored arrangement for them. Referring to the reading of Values in Tension: Ethics Away from Home, "to help leaders develop good ethical judgment requires companies to be clear about their core values..." it suggests that when leaders suffer dilemmas, they should bear the values in mind. It will guide us to make a win-win decision, for example, the goal of our government is undoubtedly people oriented. Therefore, apart from bring competitiveness advantages and convenience to people; they need to consider the existing situation first in order to reduce social instability.
Reference:
- C. Custer(2011, 18 Jan)Housing Demolition in 2010: A Report. Retrieved from http://chinageeks.org/2011/01/housing-demolition-in-2010-a-report-part-2/#footnote_1_4495
- Chinaview(2010, 3 April)Home Demolished for World Expo, Shanghai Petitioners Seek Just compensation. Retrieved from http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/home-demolished-for-world-expo-shanghai-petitioners-seek-just-compensation/
- International Real Estate Review (2003 Vol. 6 No. 1: pp. 136 - 152)Land Acquisition Compensation in China –Problems & Answers. Retrieved from http://www.umac.mo/fba/irer/papers/past/Vol6_pdf/136-152%20PRC2.pdf
- Li Yuanhan & Wu Huizhen(2009, 24 Dec)Revision to China’s Demolition Regulations Won’t Solve the Problem. Retrieved from http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/26924/
- J.M(2011, 28 Jan)Redevelopment with a human face?. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/asiaview/2011/01/private_property_china
- Violetta Yau(2011, 17 Feb)The real issue in the Choi Yuen Tsuen dispute. Retrieved from http://www.cdeclips.com/en/hongkong/The_real_issue_in_the_Choi_Yuen_Tsuen_dispute/fullstory_60585.html
- Values in Tension: Ethics Away from Home(2009, May) In Harvard Business Review.
- Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D., The Generalized Structure of Moral/Ethical Dilemmas. Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://www.friesian.com/dilemma.htm
- Managing Cartoons and Comics. Retrieved February 28, 2011 from http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/m/managing.asp
- Daskalova, Nadezhda. (2007, July 16) Company approaches to corporate social responsibility. Institute for Social and Trade Union Research. Retrieved from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2007/06/articles/bg0706029i.htm
- www.expressrailtruth.com/new/140909-4.pdf
