Hong Kong demolishes squatter village to build new housing

DW (English)

Hong Kong wants to demolish informal settlements to build 9,000 public housing units. The city is ranked as one of the most expensive to live in the world, and is in the midst of a growing housing crisis.

Transcript

00:00Not far from Hong Kong's iconic cityscape is the village of Ta Kwa Ling.

00:06They're worlds apart from one another.

00:0950-year-old Ava Tai was born here and grew up in the village.

00:14She moved into public housing elsewhere 20 years ago when she got married,

00:18but still returns regularly to visit her sister, who remains in the home where they were raised.

00:26We were very poor, but our home was full of warmth.

00:29My mother and father, when we got home, never made it feel empty.

00:36Everyone had to help out, including me, but we were very happy.

00:45Over the past seven decades, Ta Kwa Ling grew into a patchwork of primitive huts

00:50with corrugated iron roofs housing as many as 20,000 people at its peak.

00:55Most who came were destitute migrants from mainland China who came to settle here.

01:00But along with two other squatter settlements in Hong Kong,

01:03it was earmarked in 2019 by the government for redevelopment.

01:07The village is poised to enter the final phase of demolition in the coming year.

01:12It's to be turned into a site for high-rise residential buildings

01:16to help address Hong Kong's massive housing shortage.

01:20For now, the tears won't flow, but as the time draws closer,

01:24you think to yourself that this place will vanish

01:27and everything you know from your childhood will no longer be visible in the future.

01:32The average waiting time for public housing in Hong Kong stands at almost six years.

01:37It's also consistently ranked as the most expensive place to buy or rent a home in the world.

01:43Most people struggle to afford it.

01:46The redevelopment plan here is projected to provide nearly 9,000 public housing units.

01:51People living here say there is a strong sense of community in squatter settlements like Tsar Kuo Ling

01:57and that'll be difficult to replace when they have to move.

02:00But they do also admit that living conditions are sometimes far from ideal.

02:05Hygiene is a problem and there are serious fire risks.

02:09It's also unsafe during major storms.

02:12Still, those moving out of here, like Ava's sister Elaine, are unsettled about the future.

02:18She qualifies for public housing and will be rehoused,

02:21but others exceeding an income limit will need to find homes elsewhere.

02:27It will be isolated.

02:29And of course, it will be as small as a bean curd pot, not like here.

02:35The demolition of Tsar Kuo Ling is the end of the road

02:38The demolition of Tsar Kuo Ling is the end of the road

02:41for a settlement that's witnessed Hong Kong's transformation

02:44from a fishing village to a global financial hub.

02:47Squatters provided cheap labour to support it in its heyday as a manufacturing economy.

03:01For many people, it inevitably feels like a piece of the fabric of Hong Kong will be lost forever.

03:08For many people, it inevitably feels like a piece of the fabric of Hong Kong will be lost forever.

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