Soaring rent forces Hong Kong district councillor into 'container office'
PUBLISHED : Friday, 22 November, 2013, 3:21pm
UPDATED : Friday, 22 November, 2013, 4:08pm
Tony Cheung
Stanley Ho Ngai-kam, Eastern District councillor, uses a cargo container as his office in Heng Fa Chuen. Photo: Felix Wong
District councillor Stanley Ho Ngai-kam’s office is what set him apart from the other 506 members in Hong Kong: the 28-year-old works every day from a cargo container.
The out-of-box solution by the Eastern District councillor is forced by necessity. When Ho was elected two years ago to represent some 20,000 residents in private residential complex Heng Fa Chuen, he could not afford the high rents in the neighbourhood and had to take up an office in an industrial building in Chai Wan that was far away from his constituency.
Ho, from the Federation of Trade Unions, came up with the idea of having a “container office” last June. He met officials from the home affairs and the lands departments several times to bring the proposal to fruition.
Eventually, Ho managed to get a land lease of a 150 sq ft plot on the sidewalk of Shing Tai Road for HK$1,200 per month. He paid another HK$3,800 a month for the container.
Last month, he finally moved into his new “office” that let him stay close to his voters but not blow his budget.
The salary of a district councillor is about HK$22,000 a month. On top of this they receive HK$304,704 rent subsidy annually. The amount is barely enough to get a small office in a public housing estate.
The government has proposed to raise the annual subsidy to HK$408,000. The proposal, which is expected to be approved by the Legislative Council next month, would take effect next year. The authorities said it could help 98 per cent of district councillors struggling in the face of Hong Kong’s runaway office rents.
Ho is certainly supportive of the idea. He said the government should have done more to find office space for district councillors. While his “container office” offers a temporary solution, it has its shares of problems.
“It lacks security to work here and it’s rather small … it can be quite hot in the summer as well, even with the air-conditioning,” Ho said.
In Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai district councillor Roy Chan Sze-ching is mulling over a similar move.
Next month Chan is going to move into a 160 sq ft portable storage house made of prefabricated metal and glass fibre board, sitting on the pavement opposite the Tin Shui Wai subway station.
Chan had tried to get an office in a nearby shopping mall but was turned down by the owner for “commercial reasons”.
Like Ho, Chan had to get an office in Yuen Long town centre – a 30 minute walk from his consituents.
“I initiated the [home-based office] proposal last year … but the development bureau only [endorsed] it in March,” Chan recalled.
He is paying the Lands Department about HK$1,000 a month for the site; and HK$4,700 to the company that rented him the portable storage house.
While their stories are testimony to the creativity and resilience of local district councillors, Chan and Ho both said it was not something that the government should be proud of.
“This cannot be the long-term solution,” Chan said. “I’m doing this only because the government failed to help me. It’s not good [for officials] to make a councillor experiment like I did.”
