Hong Kong housing minister cool on tycoon Lee Shau-kee's plan for Tai Hang Sai Estate
Rehousing residents of unique low-cost private homes not down to government
Two ministers yesterday distanced themselves from tycoon Lee Shau-kee's plan to redevelop a unique private, low-cost housing estate into subsidised flats for sale, saying the government had no responsibility to rehouse the present tenants.
The pair responded a day after Lee announced his plans for Tai Hang Sai Estate in Shek Kip Mei, leaving residents worried about their future. A district councillor yesterday condemned the ministers' remarks as "irresponsible".
The estate, built in the 1960s is the only privately run development in the city offering lowincome tenants homes at below market rates. It was built in the 1960s by the Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation, a non-profit body created by Lee and other prominent citizens, on land provided cheaply by the government, which also lent HK$10 million for construction.
Lee revealed on Thursday that the corporation was in talks with the government over the redevelopment. A day earlier, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying named the body in his policy address as a possible provider of subsidised homes.
But at a post-policy address press conference yesterday, housing chief Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung gave a lukewarm response.
The corporation "needs to arrange the relocation of residents. It is not the responsibility of the government or the Housing Authority," he said. "Just like other redevelopment projects, property owners have to find places to move to themselves. I believe society considers that fair."