Property owners seek injunction to block June 4 memorial museum

Property owners of the Tsim Sha Tsui tower block where a new museum dedicated to the 1989 democracy movement on the mainland is up and running want the courts to bar the use of the unit as a memorial hall.

In a writ, they say the fifth storey of the Foo Hoo Centre, now occupied by the June 4 Museum, is among the floors that cannot be used for memorial or exhibition purposes under the building's deeds.

"The use of any part or parts of the fourth to 17th floors (inclusive) of the building as a memorial hall or an exhibition hall is in breach of the [occupation] permit," the writ says.

The owner of the unit, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, reiterated yesterday that it had sought legal advice before determining the use of the premises it bought in December for more than HK$9.7 million.

Lawyers had advised that the operation of the museum complied with the model of a commercial building, alliance vice-chairman Mak Hoi-wah said.

The 800 square foot facility hosts the world's first permanent exhibition dedicated to the Tiananmen Square crackdown.