Bruce Lee fan club appeals to Hong Kong government to save kung fu legend’s former mansion at Kowloon Tong, which is soon to be demolished
- Bruce Lee Club wants to restore disused building and turn it into a museum devoted to the star, who died in 1973
- House on Cumberland Road set to become Chinese studies centre but owner has no objection to government preserving it
With Bruce Lee’s former Hong Kong mansion set to be torn down to make way for a Chinese studies centre in two weeks’ time, a fan club of the late kung fu legend has launched an international petition to urge the government to preserve the home, with the owner of the building offering no objection.
Wong Yiu-keung, chairman of the Bruce Lee Club, said at a press conference on Friday: “The building symbolises our collective memory of Bruce Lee, which should be treasured by Hong Kong people and the world. I hope the Hong Kong government will preserve the trace of this influential actor, martial artist and philosopher.”
If the government does not listen to the voice of the fans, the club said it would also consider crowdfunding the money to buy the site, which is where the martial arts master spent his last years with his family.
The club estimated that restoring the 5,699 sq ft property to how it looked when Lee lived there would cost around HK$100 million (US$12.8 million), while the estimated price of the site would be from HK$300 million to HK$400 million.
“I won’t say [crowdfunding] HK$500 million would be impossible, but I’m not very confident about it happening at short notice.”
The block at 41 Cumberland Road in Kowloon Tong is owned by the Yu Panglin Charitable Trust, founded by billionaire philanthropist Yu Pang-lin, who died in 2015.
Last week, the trust told the Post it would begin demolishing the house in two weeks to make way for a Chinese studies centre, marking a change of heart by the trust, which had pledged to keep the property intact and improve it. It cited a consultant’s appraisal to justify the rethink, saying structural problems with the building made it difficult to maintain it.
