Junius Ho says a review of the government's Small House Policy would help clarify procedural matters. Photo: RTHK
Junius Ho talks to RTHK's Janice Wong
A spokesman for the New Territories Concern Group, Junius Ho, on Wednesday welcomed calls for a review of the government’s Small House Policy.
The policy allows each male indigenous villager in the New Territories to build a three-storey house on his ancestral land. But the right cannot be transferred to others.
Ho said a review would help clarify procedural matters and would hopefully deal with any concerns the public has over the arrangement.
His comments came after a study by the Labour Party highlighted what it described as abuses of the policy, and called for an end to the arrangement.
But Ho told RTHK’s Janice Wong that the policy is their constitutional right.
Calls to scrap the policy intensified last year after a group of indigenous villagers and a developer were jailed for up to three years by the District Court for selling their rights to build houses to the developer.
Judge Sham Siu-man said the case clearly showed the policy was not working. He said the villagers were only interested in selling their land rights.
But the rural body, the Heung Yee Kuk, later threatened to sue the government if it attempted to make any changes to the policy.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1258179-20160504.htm
