The Tuen Ma Line opened to traffic for one year, and the railway has since been connected to Kowloon City.
Known as "Little Thailand", Kowloon City has always been teeming with Thai restaurants and shops. On the eve of its opening to traffic last year, some merchants admitted that they were worried about rising rents and the collapse of the Thai community.
A year later, a Thai restaurant located on South Point Road for more than 30 years was interviewed again. After enduring the impact of the railway project for many years, the business has finally improved. However, the URA recently announced the reconstruction plan, and I am afraid that it will be forced to relocate. It will be moved out in a while.”
He believes that although the "Little Thailand" in Kowloon City will not be completely disintegrated, its scale will be reduced. Even if the URA will set up a "Xiaojie Food and Cultural District", he is not optimistic: "It may not be possible to do it exclusively. A community will naturally be formed if it is unintentionally inserted.”
The reporter counted the number of Thai restaurants and shops within the redevelopment area, including at least 20 restaurants and upstairs shops.
Some Thais who have been in Hong Kong for more than 30 years expressed that they are worried that the characteristics of Thailand will disappear from now on, and "dismantle us", hoping that they will try their best to preserve the characteristics of Thailand while rebuilding.
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Shui Ge is the person in charge of the Thai restaurant "Jin Mai Tai" on Nam Kok Road, Kowloon City. The shop was opened in 1990 by his mother and his aunt partner, both of whom are overseas Chinese from Thailand and experienced the Kai Tak Airport era.
The restaurant was passed on to Brother Shui and has been witnessing the changes in the area.
Affected by the Sand-Central Route project, merchants on Nanjiao Road formed a major alliance of bitter owners in 2017, complaining that the Nanjiao Road site had been closed for six years, causing environmental sanitation problems.
At that time, the merchants decided to jointly turn off the lights for one hour to protest, and Shui Ge was also one of them.
In 2017, merchants on South Point Road, Kowloon City turned off their lights to protest
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On the eve of the opening of the Tuen-Ma Line to traffic last year, Brother Shui said in an interview with "Hong Kong 01" that the business had dropped by 40% due to the impact of the project, but he believed that the business could increase by 10% to 20% after the opening to traffic.
He also pointed out at the time that three years before the opening to traffic, the owner had increased the rent by 40%.
After opening to traffic, the business and rent will be increased by 20%
It has been one year since the opening of the Tuen Ma Line, and Shui Ge was interviewed again. He said that the flow of people in Kowloon City has indeed benefited from the increase in the effect of the MTR, and the business volume has increased by about 20%, especially more customers from Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and other Tuen Ma Diners in the areas along the line believe that the Tuen Ma Line is convenient for residents in the northwest New Territories to get to Kowloon City.
However, he also pointed out that after the entire Tuen Ma Line was opened to traffic last year, he signed a new contract with the owner to renew the lease, and the rent increased by about 20%, adding about 10,000 yuan. Unfortunately, due to the impact of the fifth wave of the epidemic, business fell again and suffered losses.
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After the railway project, the epidemic is also difficult to rebuild
Compared with the landlord's rent increase, Shui Ge believes that the impact of the epidemic will hurt the merchants more, but as long as the epidemic slows down, the business will improve.
But no matter how hard the epidemic is, it may be hard for the URA to announce the redevelopment of Kowloon City.
The Kowloon City redevelopment project announced by the URA covers a section of Nanjiao Road, and the "Golden Mai Tai" of Shui Ge is located in the repossession area.
He described that after experiencing the Sand-Central Line project and the impact of the epidemic, he thought that he could finally enjoy the convenience of the railway, and the business was expected to improve, but he was faced with reconstruction and forced eviction.
Brother Shui said frankly: "I will move out after a while."
Shui Ge said that although he hopes to make a comeback, the reconstruction plan involves many streets in the core of Kowloon City, and it is difficult to find suitable shops.
Even if the URA provides compensation to the merchants, the refurbishment of the shops is expected to involve a cost of one million yuan, which is not an easy task.
He said frankly that he felt that he would be forced to move. The shop has a history of 32 years, and the new lease is for two years. It is difficult to predict whether the lease will be renewed.
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The scale of "Little Thailand" will inevitably shrink
Kowloon City has always been the gathering point of Thai people. Brother Shui believes that the reconstruction will have a great impact on the characteristics of Kowloon City's "Little Thailand", but he believes that it has not completely collapsed. At least the South City Road, which is lined with Thai grocery stores, has not yet been included in the scope of reconstruction. , but the scale of "Little Thailand" is about to shrink.
He said that he understands that Kowloon City is always an old area and needs to be rebuilt, but it should try to retain its characteristics, "it's not easy to drive it away", such as trying to set up a Thai Street.
The URA mentioned that it would strengthen the regional image of the “Xiaojie Food Culture District”, but Shui Ge believes that the original Thai characteristics of Kowloon City were formed naturally. A culture that is no different may not be reproduced deliberately. "It may not be possible to do it exclusively. Instead, it will naturally form a community."
There are more than 20 Thai restaurants and shops in the redevelopment project
The Kowloon City redevelopment project announced by the URA this time has a site area of about 37,061 square meters and involves three sites. Except for the northern site, which mainly involves Carpenter Road Park, many streets and shops are involved.
The reporter counted the number of Thai restaurants and shops within the reconstruction area last week, and there are 15 shops on the ground floor alone.
In addition, some buildings have Thai-style massage parlors or other Thai-style shops. There are also Thai-style restaurants in Kowloon City Market. Therefore, there are more than 20 Thai-style restaurants or shops within the redevelopment area, and all of them may disappear in the future.
Thai people lose their footing
Thai Lim Tai has been in Hong Kong for more than 30 years and has worked for many years in a Thai-style grocery store on Kai Tak Road, which is also located in the redevelopment area.
She also lives in Kowloon City, but admits that with the rise in rents in recent years, the number of Thais who come to Hong Kong to work has decreased, resulting in a decline in the number of Thai residents in the region.
She continued to point out that although some Thais in the region may have a better chance of being assigned public housing for reconstruction, they have always regarded Kowloon City as a gathering point and worried that "Little Thailand" would collapse. ".
Mrs. Lin also predicted that it would be difficult to find new shops to operate after the reconstruction.
For example, she pointed out that a Thai restaurant on Kai Tak Road in the district was affected by other redevelopment projects. The person in charge originally wanted to stay in Kowloon City to operate, but it was hard to find a restaurant. He planned to return to Thailand to rest before making plans.
Lam also pointed out that after the URA's reconstruction is completed, even if there are shops for rent, the rent will inevitably rise, making it difficult for small businesses such as Thai-style grocery stores to survive. Regional characteristics.
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Thais under pressure to rebuild
The Christian and Missionary Association Tairen Enfu Church and Thai Enfu Service Center located at Yaqian Wai Road, Kowloon City, have served Thais in Kowloon City for about 10 years. One of the Thai caregivers, Miss Li, said that after the opening of the Tuen Ma Line to traffic , the number of people going to Kowloon City for food has indeed increased, but the flow of people has never been as high as before the epidemic.
She also pointed out that due to rising rents, many Thai restaurants have closed down, but some people are reluctant to give up and look for smaller shops to continue their operations.
Regarding the reconstruction plan, Miss Li admitted that many Thais in the district felt worried and under great pressure after learning about the plan.
She continued to point out that, in fact, many Thai people are not opposed to reconstruction, but Kowloon City has always been unique. "Returning to Kowloon City is like returning to Thailand." Once lost, it would be a pity. , I don’t know how to count.”
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