The writing was not on the wall. Grievances of residents of the ill-fated Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po were written in slogans on the T-shirts some of them wore as they visited their home last week. “Rebuild Wang Fuk,” one of them, is self-explanatory. Another one, “not ideal”, was a ridicule of the John Lee team’s over-used “one adjective-fits-all” response to government mistakes and work deficiencies. Their hopes for rebuilding the fire-gutted estate were also penned on the hand-made posters and drawings they posted on the windows of their flats.

The writing was indeed on the wall. But it was ignored.

Posters that carried a four-word slogan, literally translated as “Rebuild Wang Fuk”, disappeared soon after some residents posted them on the windows of their flats. Some residents reportedly said they were told by staff not to post those posters during their visit. They were not given an explanation.

No other alternative except the buyback option

Last week saw Hong Kong’s temperature hit a record high in May. But chilly wind blew across the cordoned Wang Fuk Court buildings as the second round of visits of residents to pick up their belongings ended. A row over the fate of the buildings, however, is brewing.

Almost five months after the deadly fire that caused 168 people dead became smokeless, the government allowed residents to return to their homes in batches beginning from April 20. A set of rules, including an upper limit of three hours and number of visitors per flat, was imposed. Heeding residents’ demand for more visits, the government agreed to organise another round of visits upon request of residents, which ended last week.

The “picking-up” trips were seen as part of the government’s plan to buy back from owners the land of at least seven of the eight blocks of Wang Fuk Court. One block, Wang Chi House, was left unharmed by the blaze. The government said the buyback offer would be applicable to Wang Chi House flat owners if over 75 per cent of them agree to it.

Giving no sign of any alternative option except the buyback option, the government is seemingly keen to convey a clear message to the residents that their home visits in the last five weeks would not just be their first visit after the fire, but would very likely be their last.

Under the buyback plan unveiled in February, flat owners have been given June 30 as the deadline for them to accept the offer with priority in selecting flats in a special sales scheme. Flat owners could still wait until the end of August to say yes. Those “late birds” will not be given the priority in picking flats.

Government officials claimed a majority of flat owners have tentatively given a nod to the buyback plan. The government has not said what if some owners did not accept the buyback offers. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong has said the government did not rule out the possibility of a legislation, which could see Wah Fuk Court flat owners having no choice but to sell their property to the government.

Zero tolerance

With no renovation and repairs being done and basic facilities such as the malfunctioned lifts reactivated after the blaze was put off, visits of residents to their fire-hit homes could have dampened any lingering hopes of rebuilding the estate after they saw for themselves the miserable state of the estate. The “picking-up-cum-farewell” visits may have dashed hopes of some flat owners, but clearly not all.

Some residents have refused to give up their calls for rebuilding the estate. It was against the backdrop of their persistent calls that posters that carried the message of “rebuild Wang Fuk” had disappeared from the public limelight.

Fearful of chaos created by certain people out of the aftermath of the fire, the authorities have taken no chance of any signs they deemed as a potential source of trouble.

Not surprisingly, the more the pressure for the disgruntled residents to mute their calls for rebuilding the estate, the stronger their words and acts of defiance of the buyback plan and, importantly, their discontent over government deficiencies as laid bare in the deadly fire and the public hearings held by an independent committee.

With the first buyback plan deadline nearing, there are no signs of government officials talking directly to residents to answer their questions about the buyback plan and to convince them with evidence the “rebuild” option is utterly infeasible.

The row over the housing arrangements of the victims is looming – and becoming uglier, adding more misery and anxieties to the victims of Wang Fuk Court.

 

▌ [At Large] About the Author

Chris Yeung is a veteran journalist, a founder and chief writer of the now-disbanded CitizenNews; he now runs a daily news commentary channel on Youtube. He had formerly worked with the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Economic Journal.