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SCMP Reporter

TUNG Wah Group of Hospitals chairman Deborah Kwan Siu Lai-kwan has rejected a Sunday Morning Post challenge to earn up to $100,000 for charity by staying at a caged hostel in Tai Kok Tsui which has links with her organisation.

  When the Sunday Post revealed last month that Tung Wah, renowned for its care of the elderly, managed the block where hostels at 52 Fuk Tsun Street and 1 Lime Street were located, Mrs Kwan said she could easily contemplate staying there.

  But yesterday she formally turned down our offer of $20,000 a night for up to five nights, saying the event would be nothing more than a 'media circus' if she accepted.

  She said: 'I can just see it now, reporters and cameras everywhere. That's not going to help the people living there, is it?   'Perhaps my comments that I could live there were a little hasty, but at the time they were made in good faith.

  'I don't regret making them, but I do regret the implications they have caused for everyone concerned with this.'   Mrs Kwan's chairmanship ends tomorrow and it seems likely she will be replaced by her current deputy, businessman Willie Lui Pok-shek.

  Last night, Sunday Post editor Ann Quon said she was extending our challenge to the new chairman.

  She said: 'Our offer was aimed at the chairman of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, whether that be Mrs Kwan or her replacement.

  'It was designed to encourage the senior member of the Tung Wah board to go and see the sorry conditions in which these people are living.

  'We hope the new chairman will want to do this and, obviously, earn money for the charity as well.'   As for Mrs Kwan, she says she now wants to put behind her an incident which turned her 'dream job' into a nightmare.

  She said she had lost weight, been unable to sleep and had constant arguments with her accountant husband, Robert, since the Sunday Post disclosed that elderly people were living in cramped caged homes.

  'It was always my ambition to be chairman of Tung Wah, but this sorry affair has turned it all sour,' she said.

  Mrs Kwan, who has been involved in charity work since 1977, said she felt 'desperately sorry' for the people in the hostels, but said the charity has to consider all occupants under the guardianship of the group.

  'Contrary to what a lot of people may think, I had a very poor upbringing and had to fight for everything I ever have had so I know what they are going through,' she said.

  'The charity is trying to do everything it can to make their lives that little bit easier. I am not saying they are living in luxury, but a lot of people in Hong Kong are worse off. What about all the people sleeping on the streets? At least these people have a home of some kind.'    Mrs Kwan said she had been unfairly treated.

  'I think the press has been very unfair to me,' she said. 'I am only the spokesperson for the Group, all the decisions are made by the board.

  'It seems to have turned into a personal attack on my character. I don't think I deserve this. I have helped raise a lot of money for Tung Wah.'   After stepping down, Mrs Kwan plans to devote her time to Operation Smile, a charity that helps children in northern China who have been born with facial deformities.

  It is three weeks since the plight of the hostel people was revealed. Since then, Mrs Kwan said, eight Tung Wah social workers had visited the caged homes to see the conditions for themselves on February 21 and 22. They pledged that a maintenance programme would be implemented.

  A spokesman for Tung Wah said the purpose of the visit was to show their concern for the residents, to explore their needs, and make them aware of relevant services that were available from the group, Social Welfare Department and the Housing Department.

  But their reply made no specific mention of any interior renovation. It only stressed that the building's ongoing maintenance programme, which includes replacing windows and repainting external walls, would be completed this month.

  However, most of the work is external. The interior work only includes replacing windows, repainting and providing additional lighting on common staircases.

  The visit did little for the people they were sent to help. One of the cage-dwellers, 71-year-old Poon Shi-kau, said none of the residents dared to say anything to the Tung Wah social workers.

  'The only time they came to talk to us was after the media coverage. They mentioned some rehousing programmes by the Social Welfare Department and the group. But nothing has changed since they came,' he said.

  'We have been living together for so long. We don't want to be split up and sent to different places.'   The director of the Society for Community Organisation, Ho Hei-wah, said Tung Wah's refusal to offer a substantial to the public after three weeks was irresponsible.

  'What's the use of sending some staff to the cage homes if they come up with nothing? If they were really sincere about improving the living conditions, they should make it known,' he said.

  Legislative Councillor Christine Loh last night urged Tung Wah to come out and explain the issue.

  'Three weeks have gone by. Someone from Tung Wah's board of directors should come out to explain their stand on the issue,' she said. 'And at least come out to say what they intend to do about it.' 



Kwan rejects cage challenge