HOW THE GOVERNMENT BY FORCE TO DEMOLISH THE SEVEN BUILDINGS IN SAI LAU KOK, TSUEN WAN, NEW TERRITORIES, HONG KONG.
On 31st January, 1978, Government sent us a letter in the name of Public Works Department, Mass Transit Railway Office, explaning why it was going to reclaim our lands and buildings, and telling us to get psycho- logically prepared. (why ?) To protect ourselves against the misfortune of having our homes demolished, we set up a committee composed of the owners of the seven buildings at Sai Lau Kok against the demolition and resettelment of us. We had held press conference and petition to the Governor and all departments concerned.
On 12th May, 1978, Government announced in its Gazette No. 1182 that six months thereafter our premises would officially and automatically become crown-land. Despite our strong opposition through the press, Government went ahead with its decision.
Later, in May 1978, apart from notifying us by post that our pre- mises would have to be resumed for the construction of the Mass Transit Railway depot (Note 1), the M. T. R. Office and the Tsuen Wan District Office held meetings with our representatives to discuss the questions of compensation. After about eight months of negotiation, perhaps influ- enced by the Government's pressure, threats and terms to their advantage, some of the representatives sold their integrity and completely turned away from our correct direction of negotiation. They tactfully changed the goal which Mr. Choi Kwok-ching, Urban Councillor and Mr. Ma Man-fai, Chairman of the United Nation Society, had been helping us to achieve. In addition, they tried to persuade us to accept Government's terms of compensation which were completely unreasonable. Hence, there appeared the swindle of "flat-for-flat" and "shop-for-shop". As it was a swindle, there were naturally some timid and ignorant flat-owners victimized, as was well proved by the "Allways Garden" deal. (Note 2)
Before the case of "Allways Garden", on 19th Sept., 1978 we received Government's first letter of valuation. However, the valuation was so low (HK$260.00 per sq. ft.) that nobody could accept it. There- after, by hook or by crook, Government tried its best to make us accept its terms so as to start work of the mass transit railway. In trying to
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