Reclusive Victor So stays quiet on the Urban Renewal Authority's U-turn over subsidised flats for single Hongkongers
Victor So may prefer to avoid the spotlight, but many critics say the public deserves answers over a policy reversal for single buyer subsidies
Veteran housing executive Victor So Hing-woh's management style has come under fire again.
The recent furore over the Urban Renewal Authority's decision on who can buy subsidised flats at its developments has prompted some to question So's chairmanship at the authority - a quasi-official organisation responsible for speeding up the redevelopment of Hong Kong's decaying urban areas.
"So owes the public an explanation," said Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Alice Mak Mei-kuen - a non-executive director of the authority - referring to the agency's alleged policy U-turn over the provision of subsidised flats for sale.
READ MORE: Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority rethinks criteria for single home buyers
On November 24, the authority announced it would allow single people - instead of only families of two people or more, as under its original plan - to buy units at its De Novo development in Kai Tak.
Neither So nor his management team have clarified the authority's position and So declined an interview with the Post.
This was not the first time So's apparent reticence had drawn criticism.
He was widely accused of failing to address a rift between him and the previous management team at the authority, which became pronounced when the agency's then managing director Iris Tam Siu-ying submitted her resignation in late March, two years into a three-year term.
In an email to all staff, Tam admitted she quit because of irreconcilable differences with So and warned the agency should not act like a developer.