I didn't lie over flats: Kwong

Local | Chan Ho-him 23 Sep 2016

Democratic Party lawmaker-elect Roy Kwong Chun-yu, who the government claims supported the scaling down of the controversial Wang Chau housing project, yesterday reiterated he was not lying when he said he had not known about the initial plan to build 17,000 units.

According to media reports, Kwong, a district councillor, was briefed by the Housing Department at a September 2013 Yuen Long District Council meeting, that it planned to construct 17,000 public housing units in Wang Chau. On Wednesday, Kwong denied he had known about that plan when he was "soft-lobbied" by the government half a year later.

"That [17,000 target] was just the government's bleating to the press," he said.

"I did not get the total number of flats I cannot remember whether it was 17,000 units or something else, but what is more important is that the government did not inform us about that plan from the start."

Kwong also claimed that he neither supported nor opposed the building of 4,000 units at a soft lobbying meeting on March 17, 2014.

The department confirmed that members at that meeting included assistant director Lawrence Chung Kam- wing, but both Kwong and Zachary Wong Wai-yin, another alleged supporter, said they could not recall the exact names.

Wong said the government has continued the "soft lobbying" process with rural committee members on details of the Wang Chau project. He said he was recently told that "local community authorities" had suggested the planned 10 public housing blocks be cut to nine at one of the meetings for "feng shui reasons," adding that the government had "approved the change."

"That will mean a scaling down of the number of flats," Wong said. "How is it possible for the government to still continue with its soft lobbying after the decision [to build 4,000 flats] was made."

The Planning Department proposed to the Town Planning Board in October 2014 to build 10 41-story housing blocks on a greenbelt site in Wang Chau to accommodate 12,300 people.

A source from the Housing Department confirmed to The Standard the department had continued to hold "informal meetings with local community representatives" to listen to their views, but had no details or minutes of the meetings.

He said the Wang Chau project is currently undergoing a planning process so nothing has been settled, while reaffirming the target remains at 4,000 units. He added that these informal meetings will go on to collect opinions.



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