A group of survivors of the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire have petitioned Hong Kong’s top officials twice in a week, urging the government to rebuild the fire-ravaged residential estate on site and to respect their private property rights.
According to copies of the petitions received by HKFP on Thursday, the petitioners sent the letters to a group of top officials on Wednesday this week and last week, asking them to reconsider the in-situ redevelopment of Wang Fuk Court.
The letters were sent to Chief Executive John Lee, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Warner Cheuk, Deputy Chief Secretary for Finance Michael Wong, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho, and Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Minister Alice Mak.
According to the petitions, Wang Fuk Court homeowners were not given transparent information and were not properly consulted about resettlement plans.
The petitioners urged the government to coordinate with the Hop On Management Company, appointed by authorities to take over the Wang Fuk Court owners’ board, to call a general meeting of homeowners to vote on on-site redevelopment.
“To us, Wang Fuk Court is more than just a private property protected by the sanctity of the law; it is a home we have spent half our lives building,” the letters said.
“We are grateful to the government for its earlier empathy in allowing residents to briefly return to Wang Fuk Court to retrieve precious belongings,” it continued.
“However, regarding the long-term planning that dictates the future of our homes and our resettlement, we have profound doubts and anxieties about the underlying logic and legal basis of certain official decisions.”
The petitions were organised by two Wang Fuk Court homeowners – known by their surnames: Cheung and Ho.
In January, they went to China’s Liaison Office and the Legislative Council (LegCo) to deliver the petition, which was signed by more than 1,100 homeowners and asked for on-site redevelopment.
The organisers told HKFP on Thursday that, so far, they had not received any response from the government.
HKFP has sent an enquiry to the government for comment.
Property rights of the minority
The government announced on February 21 a buyout offer for homeowners, rejecting the option to rebuild the apartment block.
Flat owners can either sell their property titles to the government or move into another government-subsidised estate under a flat-exchange scheme.
Wong, the deputy chief secretary for finance, said at a press conference that according to a consultation conducted by the government, 83 per cent of Wang Fuk Court homeowners preferred to prioritise speedy resettlement.
He also said that on-site redevelopment would take more than 10 years, and therefore would not be a good option.
However, some homeowners criticised the plan, saying it ignored their wishes.
In the letters sent this month, the petitioners said the government should not conclude that on-site redevelopment would take 10 years before conducting a formal survey.
They also pointed out that, with more than 1,100 homeowners from nearly 400 households signing the January petition, around 17 per cent of Wang Fuk Court households supported on-site redevelopment.
“The dignity of a society governed by the rule of law lies in the fact that the legal property rights of a minority should not – and will not – be easily stripped away under a crude administrative logic of ‘the minority yielding to the majority,’” the April petitions read.
“Even if only two or three buildings can ultimately be reconstructed on site, the government bears an inescapable responsibility to properly address the lawful wishes of these nearly 400 households.”
A massive fire ripped through Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing complex in Tai Po, in late November, engulfing seven of its eight towers. The blaze – Hong Kong’s deadliest in nearly eight decades – killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.
