In the shadows

HOMEGROWN CARTOON PIG McDull and long-term residents of Tai Kok Tsui share feelings of helplessness and gloom over the redevelopment of the old district in West Kowloon. In the animated film Prince de la Bun, McDull is frustrated by a giant robot's bid to demolish parts of Tai Kok Tsui. In real life, shop owners and residents such as Tse Ngai-shing are just as upset by the area's urban renewal.

They're tearing up the community, says Tse, who runs an ironworks shop in Beech Street. 'The government is trying to kick us out of the inner city because we're dirty, blue-collar people,' he says.

Lee Wong Kit-fong, an elderly resident who used to run a metal-fabrication shop with her late husband, laments that grand revitalisation projects have done little to improve life for people such as her.

'Our hands were always very dirty because we collected scrap metal for recycling. But those were happy days,' she says. 'We could still see the harbour from our shop, back then, and at Mid-Autumn Festival, my children would play with lanterns near the waterfront. But now we can't get a glimpse of the sea any more.'

Tse is among a group of residents hunkered down in the district, despite a September 14 deadline for their removal under the redevelopment scheme. The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has issued writs against the hold-outs, but most say they have no choice as they can't find affordable alternative accommodation. They don't have funds for a court battle, and can only write letters in their own defence, Tse says.

Tai Kok Tsui once thrived on its mixture of residential blocks, dock facilities and clusters of metalwork and vehicle workshops, but URA officials say redevelopment is necessary because buildings in the district are too old and ground-floor workshops generate air and noise pollution. About 1,300 households are affected by five URA projects covering Cherry, Larch, Fir, Pine, Anchor and Fuk Tsun streets.