Hong Kong villagers evicted early ahead of massive commercial and housing development
Homes are due to make way for huge development - but not until at least 2020
About 30 households living in squatter homes in a Yuen Long village are set to be the first displaced to make way for an ambitious plan for a new commercial hub in the northwestern New Territories.
Some say they have been told to move out by Monday – despite the fact the mammoth government project will not begin to take shape for at least five years.
Under a proposal by the Planning Department and Civil Engineering and Development Department, a 714-hectare site in Hung Shui Kiu would be transformed to provide 1.9 million square metres of office, retail and hotel space, along with 60,100 new flats.
The plan is subject to a third and final round of consultation, which runs until September 16, and land formation work is not due to begin until 2020.
But residents of Tin Sam San Tsuen, which will make way for the work, say they have already received notice from their landlord to leave or switch to monthly rental contracts that would allow for their rapid eviction, according to activist Chan Kim-ching. His group Liber Research Community has received calls for help from residents.
More than 20 attended a village meeting last night, with some saying they had been told to leave by Monday next week. They want the government to help them find a place to settle.
“Asking us to move is not a problem. Seeking possession is not a problem. But, there must be a place for us to settle,” said Chui Ming-pong, 40, who works in transportation and has lived in the village for five years.
