New subsidies provided for Hong Kong fire victims' resettlement

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced on Thursday that it will provide a HK$150,000 ($19,277) rental subsidy annually for two years and a one-time HK$50,000 relocation grant to each homeowner displaced by November's deadly Wang Fuk Court fire.

Tenants will also be eligible for the HK$50,000 relocation allowance, officials said at a news conference.

The HK$150,000 yearly rental aid will be distributed in two equal semiannual tranches. The first HK$75,000 installment, along with the relocation grant, will be disbursed from Monday through social workers assigned by the government.

At the media briefing, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Cheuk Wing-hing said the subsidies respond to feedback from front-line social workers and district-level personnel.

"Many residents hope to continue living in Tai Po district, but the government has no more emergency accommodation available in this area, so providing rent subsidies is the most feasible solution," Cheuk said.

As of Wednesday, the Tai Po Wang Fuk Court Support Fund totaled about HK$3.8 billion, with approximately HK$3.5 billion raised in public donations added to the HK$300 million seed funding from the government. The government has already committed about HK$1.2 billion to various relief and subsidy schemes, said Cheuk.

"The support fund will be used where it's needed," at the current stage, primarily to subsidize homeowners' long-term resettlement, he added.

The confirmed death toll from the Nov 26 fire stands at 160, with about 5,000 residents displaced and six people still unaccounted for as of Thursday. Seventeen of the 83 patients injured in the fire remain hospitalized and are in stable condition, authorities said.

As of Thursday night, 1,180 residents were living in youth hostels, camps, and hotel rooms arranged by the authorities. A further 3,439 residents have been relocated to transitional housing units operated by the Housing Bureau and the Hong Kong Housing Society, the government said.

At the same briefing, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said the government expects to finalize a long-term resettlement plan within the two-year period.

Mak also said that those currently staying in hotels or youth hostels must pay rent as arranged by the respective institutions. Occupants of transitional housing will be exempt from rent until May 31, with payments required thereafter.

Also on Thursday, Hospital Authority Chairman Henry Fan Hung-ling announced that the authority will provide HK$1 million to the families of each of the two employees who died in the fire. For the 53 HA employees who lost their homes due to the incident, each household will receive an assistance payment of HK$150,000, Fan said.