Recent protests staged by the rooftop dwellers signalled the need to review the present housing policies, on top of the attention and sympathy they have drawn.
The discontented dwellers are continuing their struggles against government’s clearance and its refusal of proper rehousing.
Their arguments arise from contradictory of government policies, said social worker Chan Yu of Tsuen Wan Ecumenical Social Service Centre.
First, for the past few decades, the government has been collecting rates and property tax from the residents.
The residents went through certain legal procedures to buy the properties, which were registered at the Land Registry. Contracts were made through solicitors for transactions.
The government has, in fact, been either directly or indirectly admitting the rooftop dwellings as legal.
The dwellers question the rationale behind the clearance of their residences without compensation.
Second, if the government supposes the dwellings to be illegal, the residents should be eligible to public housing.
However, the government keeps turning down, claiming that they are legal property owners.
Third, the government provides hillside squatters with a complete set of rehousing policies, but not to those on rooftops.
No department is responsible for arranging their resettlement. Furthermore, the owners have to bear the huge sum of demolition costs.
Finally, the government insists on clearing whole structures, turning a deaf ear to the residents' demands to clear part of their dwellings to make way for emergency exits.
In response to their accusations, officials claimed that the departments are acting on the basis of official policies.
They stressed that it is a legal procedure to ask the residents to pay rates and property tax for the land they occupy.
However, paying rates does not certify that a household is legal.
They maintained that the rooftop dwellings were not cleared at the very beginning because the departments did not have sufficient manpower.
Besides, they had already informed the residents a year beforehand. They should have had enough time to move out or to register with the government for rehousing.
Mr. Lee Wing-tak, Legislative Councilor representing Tsuen Wan District, expressed his views on the issue at a public forum after a tide of protests came in.
He criticized the government's double standard in its treatment of rooftop dwellers and squatter residents.
He further condemned its lack of sincerity to review the policies.
Miss Winnie Lam, spokesperson of the Democratic Party to which Mr. Lee belongs, made some comments on the issue and on the governmentÆs overall housing policy.
She said it is obvious that the clearance and rehousing policies are not properly coordinated.
"At the very beginning,ö she said, "the Land Registry merely considered the trade of land sites."Sites of the rooftop dwellings were also taken into account and so rates and property tax had to be paid."
The Housing Authority's claim that this does not entitle them to any special rights is not justified, she claimed.
"The government did not made a statement clarifying this point at the beginning," she said.
According to Miss Lam, in the past, rooftop dwellers solved their housing problems without considering the possibility that their residences may be cleared one day.
"With no alternatives, they accommodated in these not up-to-standard dwellings," she said.
In the long run, we suggest gradual clearance and rehousing, a practice that the government has been adopting to deal with the squatters."
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Those obstructing emergency exits and dangerously constructed can be pulled down first. "This, however, relates to a technical problem which depends heavily on whether it is possible for the Buildings Department to identify the flats. "It is hoped that the government can rehouse them without affecting those who have already been waiting in the queue. "One solution is to delay the clearance of some old public housing to settle these homeless first. |
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"Undoubtedly, this may affect those on the waiting list, but the public housing for them will have been readily built after a few years," Miss Lam said.
Every year, there are some 400 units of public housing for victims of fire or natural disasters.
Miss Lam suggested using them as well to rehouse the rooftop dwellers if there are any left unoccupied.
She said the Democratic Party had submitted their proposals to the government, but the reply was that there was insufficient manpower.
Refering to the suggestion of freezing the demand for public housing, the government replied that it is impossible at the moment.
The government said they need further consideration concerning the solution.
Miss Lam added, "The residents are very resistant to registration because they fear to be settled to temporary housings in the New Territories."
With regard to all these complaints, Senior Information Officer of the Housing Authority Sannie Kong Shuk Fun defended the Authority's position.
She denied that the Housing Authority keeps turning down the rooftop dwellers' applications for rehousing.
Said she: "They still can register and join the queue for rehousing." She added that the Authority has a special resettlement plan for these dwellers and they spent two to four months going through all the cases involved.
When asked about the reasons for demolishing the dwellings, Miss Kong said that this is a question for the Buildings Department.
Indeed, Hong Kong has been suffering from housing problems for decades. The government's policies towards the low-income groups draw the most criticisms.
Concerning the interests of the low-income groups, the Democratic Party's Miss Lam said, "The government has provided them with public housing, the Home Ownership Scheme, and the Home Purchase Loan Scheme.
"The money given to them is substantial, but the policies still seem not to solve the real situation.
"For example, the maximum income limit of $2,000 for each person is an unrealistic qualification for a family to apply for public housing.
"What's more, the supply is not commensurate with the demand. In contrast, the government always looks at the demand according to its supply.
"By and large, the essence of the problem is the supply of land.
"It has been off target so far, especially in 1992 and 1993. An agreement reached by the governments of China and Britain approved 15 hectares, but it turned out to be only 7.94."
Miss Lam concluded that they hope the government will have a thorough review of the overall housing policies.
