District council chiefs won't budge on rezoning plans after lunch with CY
Chief executive's lunch with council chairmen fails to rally support for proposals that would help meet his ambitious housing target
Three out of four pro-government district chiefs say they will not lend support to its ambitious housing plans, after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying tried to lobby them during a lunch meeting yesterday.
The Wong Tai Sin district chief snubbed Leung's invitation.
The lunch, held at Government House, was hosted by Leung and his land and housing ministers Paul Chan Mo-po and Anthony Cheung Bing-leung. The chairmen and vice-chairmen of four district councils - Kwai Tsing, Sha Tin, Wong Tai Sin and Yuen Long - were invited.
It came as the government faces an uphill battle to secure council support to rezone open space, green-belt and community sites to build more flats, in order to meet Leung's target of building 470,000 new flats in the next decade.
Wong Tai Sin district council chairman Li Tak-hong and his deputy Wong Kam-chiu turned down the invitation, saying they had travel plans. The council's housing committee head Chan Wai-kwan stood in for them at the lunch but could not be reached for comment last night.
Sha Tin district council chairman Ho Hau-cheung said after the lunch yesterday: "We will not give the government more support just because of a lunch.
"My concern is whether there will be enough community facilities. We shouldn't just look at the quantity [the number of people housed]; we should also look at their quality of life."