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Sherry Lee

The government says it has paid out at least HK$9 million for religious rituals to 'fix' fung shui disruptions caused by major public works over the past decade.  
But  that  could be  just the tip of the iceberg. Officials were unable to provide figures on how much had been paid out of the public purse for fung shui claims in general, under a system which has been running for half a century. 
While the Lands Department disclosed the cost of  religious rituals,  it could not say  how much  it spent on the building of bridges, roads, pavilions, arch doors, village offices, worship halls and temple renovations - as well as consultation fees for fung shui masters - over the years.
People with  knowledge of the system of fung shui compensation say many of the claims involve under-the-table  deals with contractors to make money. 
The issue  led Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan  and a concern group to file requests  demanding the department explain how much it spent on fung shui compensation measures and why.  
Calls for transparency have been mounting since  a Sunday Morning Post report  last month of a claim in Kap Lung  village in the New Territories.  The village chief, Tsang Hin-keung, wants the government to turn a footbridge into one that can take vehicles to compensate for what he says is the disruption to fung shui caused by tunnelling work for the Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou express rail link being carried out a kilometre away.
Eddie Tse Sai-kit,  convenor of a group helping Kap Lung villagers affected by the claim, demanded the department  disclose details of each of the 15 fung shui claims accepted in connection with the rail project.  
 A Lands  spokeswoman  said it had received three to four objections to public works on fung shui grounds each year since 2005. This year,  15 objections have been made - 14 of which are related to the express rail link. But the department says  it has 'no record' of the number of claims resulting from objections and how many  fung shui rectification projects  had been undertaken as a result of the claims - one objection can lead to multiple claims and projects.  The department would only say that, since 2005,  it has paid HK$1.5 million in  ex-gratia payments for tun fu, or religious ceremonies, on 72 claims involving 47 projects such as improving drains,  repairing slopes and replacing water mains.
A tun fu allowance  covers a religious ritual to 'drive away evil spirits and appease the gods'. They take place at village shrines or in ancestral halls and are one of many kinds of compensation for fung shui claims.
But Democratic Party lawmaker Wong Sing-chi said the most costly compensation works  involve construction of  bridges, roads,  pavilions, or pai lau - the arch door at a village entrance costing at least HK$900,000.  
The  department said it has spent HK$6.2 million on religious rituals for the West Rail project,  and other fung shui-related works including 19 arch doors and one pavilion.  But  Wong  estimates the government has spent at least HK$24 million on fung shui compensation for the West Rail project alone. The department said more than HK$1 million was also spent on tun fu allowances for the East Rail Lok Ma Chau  spur line,  construction of which began  in 2003. 
'The cost of the [fung shui compensation] work not disclosed is massive,' Wong said. 'It is public money. The records can help the public judge the works and review them.'
The department would only say that the work had been  'borne by the project proponent' - meaning the contractor, who is ultimately paid by the government.
Wong says most fung shui construction work is outsourced, and bidders for such projects are usually associated with the claimants. 
'Usually the government will commit to an amount of money for a fung shui compensation  project. The village chief  finds a contractor to do the job and offers a fee  that is less than what the government pays them,' he said. On the tun fu claims, Wong said: 'The claimant asks the ritual contractor to issue an invoice of HK$400,000, but in fact  pays only HK$180,000.  And it can be carried out by anyone.' 
Wong says village chiefs and rural committee chairmen who lodge such claims pocket large sums of cash for each deal. In one case in the New Territories,  a village chief  told  Wong he had pocketed HK$200,000  from a fung shui claim for building an arch door. 'The village head offered the job to a district board member who has a construction business and told him   he would be paid HK$700,000 - but told the government that it would cost HK$900,000  so he could make money,' Wong said.
In some cases, village heads use their own companies - or those owned by family members - to submit tenders for such projects, Wong said. 'The government doesn't bother finding out if the company is attached to the claimant - there's no system for declaring interests.'  
Rights activist Chu Hoi-dick  said some village heads had put in claims for drains, roads and other  work then submitted tenders for the projects via their own companies.
Questions have also been asked about how the fung shui claims are proven. Lands officials say only that there are established guidelines on how to handle tun fu claims.
'The extent and the cost of a tun fu  usually varies with the importance of the object being disturbed, or with the degree to which the fung shui is affected,' the spokeswoman said.  
Legislators and concern groups say the danger  is that there is no cap on the amounts claimed. When graves were removed to make way for the North District Hospital,  the government agreed to pay HK$500,000 in consultation fees for a fung shui master at the request of a claimant. The government had originally proposed a payment of HK$100,000.
Wong plans to raise the issue with the Legislative Council. 'The Independent Commission Against Corruption  should look into this.'



Bill to 'fix' fung shui at least HK$9m