Demolition of Shek Lei Transit House | The team advocates population freezing instead of temporary shelters to "quench thirst" for residents

Once upon a time, a thirsty crow looked for water everywhere.

Finally, it found a pot of water, but the mouth of the bottle was too narrow to drink the water in the bottle.

The crow tried his best, and finally thought of putting the small stone into the bottle, the water level would rise, and it would have water to drink.

The story of "The Crow Drinking Water" is well known, but everyone will ignore the story behind it. The other crows who can't find the little stone can only give up the pot of water and continue to find the source of water, and choose to drink sewage, or die of thirst. Crow.

Written by: Student Team of the Boqun Community Research Project of the Chinese University of Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the transit house is the "life-saving water" for the birds who have encountered natural and man-made disasters and were demolished due to government law enforcement (such as industrial buildings).

However, the current application process is complicated and lengthy, making applicants sometimes have to give up.

First of all, if it is cleared due to government enforcement, the applicant needs to stay until the repossession stage, and pass the means test and several home visits to prove that he is eligible to apply for public housing.

After that, the applicant must stay in a temporary shelter for a period of at least three months, and wait for the transfer house until the “homelessness” certificate is exchanged.

It's like even if the body is severely dehydrated, the crow still has to move the stone back and forth dozens of times, throw it into the kettle, and may not drink a sip of water to the edge of dehydration.

There is no water and no bird to drink, and there is no one to live in a house?

The government claims that the number of transit occupants is very small, so it will clear the only remaining Shek Lei transit house in the urban area of ​​Hong Kong in 2022. It is expected that 329 households will be affected.

However, in fact, new tenants have been suspended a few years ago due to structural safety issues.

In addition, the government seldom actively promotes interim housing to the public, and the public has little understanding of interim housing, and it is even confused with concepts such as social housing.

Therefore, most of the eligible citizens are likely to have not applied for a transfer housing, but will go through other market channels, and it is very likely that due to economic difficulties, they will find an unsuitable place again.

From the perspective of residents' housing rights, they are likely to be faced with demolition again; from the perspective of government resources, there is a situation where "there are buildings and no one lives."

Therefore, the small number of occupants in the transit house is not necessarily related to "no demand", but to the government's "no promotion".

+6

To endure the harsh environment of the shelter for three months is considered "homeless"

As for the few citizens who have been informed about the procedures for moving into a transit house, they will not escape the arduous fate, and they may not be able to live in a transit house.

The environment of the temporary shelter is harsh, with lice infestation, lack of refrigerators, stable internet, and private space.

Moreover, residents have to share kitchen and toilets, and access is strictly monitored for a long time, and doors are not opened at night. Not only is it like a concentration camp, it is also detrimental to residents who work at night.

Furthermore, the center is located in Po Tin, Tuen Mun, far away from the urban area. It is not only unfavorable for school children to go to school, but also unfavorable for the public to go to work.

However, if the applicant wants to move into a transit house, he must be patient. After three months in a temporary shelter, the government considers you to be "homeless."

If you can't stand it halfway, then to the government, you are a "needless" person.

How many people can endure such a life?

Doesn't this mean deliberately excluding opportunities for residents in need?

In response to the above process issues, we suggest that the condition that applicants of unsuitable residential households be admitted to temporary shelters should be removed.

When the demolition order was issued, a seven-day population freeze was carried out to prove that the households were affected by the demolition and became homeless.

If the affected households miss the population freeze period, they can also exchange their residential address certificates for relevant certificates.

Registered households can temporarily live in a transit house and accept income and other inspections.

At the same time, the government should also establish penalties to prevent landlords from continuing to hire after the clearance order is issued, which will cause more tenants to be affected by the demolition.

If this is the case, residents can "quench their thirst" and find a place to stay in a critical situation, and government departments can successfully complete the necessary inspections, thus giving full play to the function of the transit house in society.

Demolition of Shek Lei Interim Houses | 164 vacant units in the old housing estates in the district urged the resettlement of the original districts Interim Housing in Lei | 90% of the interviewees are dissatisfied with the resettlement of public housing in Ji Ke Yuan District of Baotian Relocation Group | The Concern Group for Interim Housing in Tuen Mun Inter-district Relocation of 71 Households questioned the lack of fairness of the Housing Department

01Community