Powerful Hong Kong rural body Heung Yee Kuk slams fellow pro-establishment group for ‘socialist proposal’ to forcibly take back land to ease housing crunch
- Kuk chairman Kenneth Lau, a legislator who also sits in the Hong Kong leader’s cabinet, suggested developing green belt land and country parks
- Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong had called on the government to invoke the Lands Resumption Ordinance more often
Hong Kong’s rural powerhouse the Heung Yee Kuk is up in arms over a proposal by a fellow pro-establishment group to invoke a draconian law to forcibly take back land from private owners for public housing.
The kuk, a government-recognised body representing the interest of indigenous villagers in the New Territories and widely regarded as a key force in the pro-Beijing camp, slammed the suggestion on Tuesday, saying it went against the spirit of the Basic Law on respecting private property ownership rights.
It warned it would block all government projects in the New Territories if such a proposal was adopted.
Kuk chairman Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, a legislator who also sits in the Hong Kong leader’s cabinet, suggested developing green belt land and country parks.
“The government only has itself to blame for the land shortage problem. It is due to its bad planning and red tape. We have a lot of country parks and abandoned rural areas. But the land there is not used,” Lau said.