Hong Kong lawmaker seeks to buy time to prevent demolition of historic Red House in Tuen Mun
Democratic Party’s Andrew Wan calls for grade one building, said to have a connection with Dr Sun Yat-sen, to be declared ‘proposed monument’
A lawmaker has called for the Red House in Tuen Mun – a grade one historic building said to be linked to Dr Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China – to be declared a “proposed monument” to save it from possible demolition.
Parts of the walls surrounding the Red House had been torn down, while water supply for residents living in the building had been halted, according to Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Wan Siu-kin, who went on a site visit on Friday.
This came a day after legislator Eddie Chu Hoi-dick of rural development campaign group Land Justice League said its new landlord, who acquired the land only three months ago, had served eviction notices to some occupants.
“The residents have been living there for a long time. But the new landlord wants to evict them now. One can’t help but think that the move is to pave way for further development of the Red House,” said Chu, who is helping two affected families.
“The last thing we want to see is for a grade one historic building to be flattened,” Chu said.
The house is considered of historical interest because many locals believe it was the base where Chinese republican revolutionaries under Dr Sun had plotted to overthrow the Qing dynasty in the 1900s.