Michael Wong: Wang Fuk Court rehousing plan strikes balance between empathy, reason and law

發佈日期: 2026-02-22 19:47

TVB News

粵

已複製連結

The government will allocate 6.8 billion dollars for the buyout of homes at Wang Fuk Court, following a catastrophic fire late November. 

In an exclusive interview with TVB News, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong described the proposal as a "human-centric" plan, that is financially manageable.

While 3,900 subsidised flats will be allocated to Wang Fuk owners who have sold their titles, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho believes with the increasing housing supply, this should not cause a hugh impact to general applicants.

It has been nearly three months since the tragic Wang Fuk Court fire which claimed 168 lives.

Under the government's title acquisition plan, homeowners will be offered 10,500 dollars per square foot for units with paid-up land premiums and 8,000 dollars for those who have not paid premium.

They have to make up their minds by the end of August, or else the options will no longer be available. 

However, 12 percent of owners indicated that they will not accept the title acquisition, while 14 percent remained undecided, according to the results of the questionnaire launched last month. 

Speaking with TVB News, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong said the plan adheres to the principles of empathy, reason and law.

Wong said, "Obviously, it's not possible to have a package that can satisfy the need of everyone. After all, we are talking about some 1,700 households. I think it is important that we do have an effectIve scheme. Effective in the sense of enabling the owners concerned to satisfy their long-term housing needs in a reasonable manner."

Reporter Samantha Li, "With the acquisition price one-third higher than the initial estimate,what percentage of owners do you expect will accept the offer?"

Wong answered, "We don't have any estimate at this stage, it's impossible. The engagement will start to engage with them and so hopefully by May or June we will have a more accurate picture of how things unfold."

Meanwhile, owners of Wang Chi House, the block which stayed intact, are not included in the government acquisition proposal.

Wong said if they are able to reach a high degree of consensus, the authorities would be willing to explore possibilities with them. 

With regards to the options for fire victim families, some 3,900 subsidized housing units are earmarked for them. 

Will this be unfair to other ordinary applicants? 

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho said, "We have been working very hard to increase the overall public housing supply. Before, it's just about 4,000 units per year. This time in our home ownership scheme and the green form scheme 2025, we can offer 9,700 units. So out of this 9,700 which is in the original 2025 HOS scheme, we have taken out like 2,000 under this special scheme. We still have 7,000. So compared with previous year like 4,000. Actually everyone can have more chance to get a subsidised sales flat."