Lawmaker Zheng Anting (right)
The “Pearl Horizon” case and the Land Law were the two centerpieces of yesterday’s heated discussion in a quite uncommon plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly (AL).
The meeting, initially called to hear lawmakers’ questions and government answers on 16 spoken enquiries, eventually become centered on the topic of the Land Law and, more specifically on the case of the Pearl Horizon buyers, some of them in attendance.
Uncommonly, nominated to reply to those questions was not the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, but instead Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam and Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan.
Lawmaker Mak Soi Kun was the first to address the issue. He said that problems regarding the Land Law had already alerted the government several times to the need to “adopt measures to prevent social chaos.”
In the lawmaker’s opinion, there are a series of “tragedies” occurring in society due to the lack of action from the government on the matter.
Mak urged the government to take immediate action to solve the case before “something even more serious happens,” he warned.
In reply, Secretary Tam noted that, “while the government strictly follows the law,” in order to promote changes in the Land Law it is necessary to gather a “consensus in society,” reaffirming that “there isn’t, for the time being, an intention to change it.”
Tam noted that, due to the ongoing judicial process regarding the Pearl Horizon case, the government “needs to wait for the result first in order to take any action.”
However, Mak was not satisfied with the Secretary’s reply. “How can the government save the residents from the ‘deep waters and the burning fire’?” he asked.
A representative of the Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ) was nominated to reply to the follow-up question.
DSAJ noted that the bureau has already followed-up with the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) and that they are maintaining an open dialogue with the buyers association and also with the development promoter.
The representative reaffirmed once more the need to wait for a decision from the courts in order to “have a concrete and clear solution for the case based on such an outcome.”
“In order to review the [Land] Law, we need a social consensus as well as the orientation and object of this review,” he concluded.
Lawmaker Zheng Anting contributed to the discussion by stating that he had alerted the secretary back in December to the problems regarding the Pearl Horizon case and urged the government to consider how the matter could be solved.
Zheng disagrees with the idea that the government should wait for the outcome of the judicial process, and instead argues it should take action.
Au Kam San noted the impossibility of Tam to reply on matters that are “not a responsibility of his secretariat,” remarking that the only thing Tam can do is “to try to put down the fire, but the fire is already burning high.”
Au questioned how people who bought a residential unit according to the law could suddenly become unlawful. He then claimed that the government’s promises to protect the interests of these buyers are just slogans.
Another of the unusual events at the AL plenary yesterday was the applause of the audience – composed of some Pearl Horizon apartment buyers and other parties with interest in the Land Law – during or right after the interventions of lawmakers.
Ella Lei, Ng Kuok Cheong, Si Ka Lon, Leonel Alves, Song Pek Kei, Pereira Coutinho, Kwan Tsui Hang, Fong Chi Keong, Ho Ion Sang and Cheung Lup Kwan were among the other lawmakers who expressed similar positions regarding the topic.
Specifically, Ng noted that: “Even if the government wins in court, it should continue with the project and finish it by doing it on its own or giving it to another promoter. […] That is the only way to give the houses to the rightful owners.”
Leonel Alves remarked on the supposed “need of a consensus,” claiming that “apparently we do have a consensus.”
“I can’t see any voice against this solution,” said Alves. “What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for people to throw themselves from buildings?”
As for lawmaker Song Pek Kei, she noted that representatives from other Secretariats were siding with Tam at AL. Commenting on this, she said: “I am happy to see several representatives from different department from the government here together. I hope this means that the government is acting together to solve this problem.”
Meanwhile, Pereira Coutinho said he had already proposed some solutions to the government. “The government can write the clauses to guarantee that the buyers are safeguarded,” he said, noting that this would be a valid guarantee whatever the courts decide.
Cheung Lup Kwan, in a rare moment of addressing the plenary, acknowledged that it was a mistake to approve the changes to the Land Law. “I believe that we made a mistake. I voted wrongly; I admit that like many others here,” he said. “We have to think how to solve this. We can’t summarize this to a business between the promoter and the owners.”
However, in his concluding statements, Tam said he was “optimistic with a resolution on this case,” adding that he suspects the buyers “will have a solution soon and it can be disclosed to the public.”
When Secretary Sonia Chan weighed in on the issue it was to note that an interdepartmental group has been working on the matter, “not just for Pearl Horizon, but for the land problems in general.”
Leonel Alves asked whether the secretary needed to hear the recording of previous discussions on the matter to recall lawmakers’ intentions in changing the Land Law.
The same lawmaker noted that in the Pearl Horizon case, the government issued a license for the construction and collected stamp duty on the properties and that is why the buyers were approved loans from the banks.
“Our regime is sick! How can we fix this sickness?” he said.
In her final reply to the comments of the lawmakers, Chan said: “The idea of retrieving [the land] and holding a new tender has considered the idea of protecting the interests of the people [buyers]. We are working to protect their interests.”
Chan reaffirmed that a solution for the case will be settled, but warned that there will not be a review of the Land Law revision, which “the government has no intention of doing for the time being.”
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