Hong Kong development minister slams Heung Yee Kuk stance on trading small house rights
Paul Chan says villagers should not mix up sale of village rights and sale of building rights
A fresh bid by rural patriarchs to escalate pressure on the Leung Chun-ying administration to back their controversial practice of trading their rights to build small villas has backfired.
Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po criticised the patriarchs for mixing up the concepts of the sale of village houses and the sale of building rights, stating that “there is no tolerance at all” for using inappropriate means to trade building rights.
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Chan was responding to an open letter addressed to him by the Heung Yee Kuk – a body that represents New Territories villagers’ interests – in which the kuk claimed many of the public views against the small house policy were misinformed.
It asked the government to state if such a right was protected under the Basic Law and to state whether small houses could be traded or not.
Monday’s open letter followed a similar open petition late last month. In the previous petition, the kuk also threatened to seek Beijing’s help to clarify what they were entitled to under the Basic Law.
Chan said on Monday: “The trading of small houses and trading of small houses’ building rights are two entirely different matters. Indigenous villagers can request the Lands Department to remove sale restrictions after the construction of particular small houses are completed and upon fulfilment of certain conditions.