LettersWhy won’t Hong Kong bureaucrats warm to outdoor dining?

I am at a loss to fathom the governmental politicking that is undermining the courageous entrepreneurs who are struggling to survive the economic upheaval that the coronavirus pandemic has brought to Hong Kong. I refer to the many family-owned establishments – not chain restaurants – that are being stonewalled in their attempts to secure licences for “outside seating accommodation” in the new Papillons Square, which some day could be the culinary riviera of Hong Kong if given a chance to create its own unique personality.

Even landlords like Chinachem Group recognise the vast potential of this budding gentrification of Tseung Kwan O. However, they seem to be sabotaging their tenants’ prospects by stymieing family restaurants and their efforts to attract diners who wish to sit outdoors to social distance.

Landlords are using the governmental policies for leverage, either to cause tenants to buckle under financial uncertainties or to punitively hinder restaurants in their efforts to expand their serving areas and therefore their clienteles.

The landlords’ motive is clear: a new, more lucrative tenant in a proven market means more rent at the expense of the struggling entrepreneur who paved the way.

Hong Kong and its government needs to protect its next generation of entrepreneurs. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has been too reluctant the embrace the growing popularity of alfresco dining: it must change its antiquated policy which makes such a licence so difficult to secure. Change is good.

Ryan Culliton, Tseung Kwan O