Последние жители селения Ча Кво Линг готовятся покинуть свои дома ради строительства социального жилья

‘I had planned to stay for life’: last villagers prepare to leave Cha Kwo Ling ‘There is no need for so many mega-events in Hong Kong to create something new ... better if we could retain something unique,’ resident says Nestled within thick, verdant foliage in Cha Kwo Ling is one of Hong Kong’s last squatter settlements, where a handful of remaining residents are staying until a government deadline to move out for redevelopment of the area for public housing. Mrs Lam, one of the last villagers living among the juxtaposition of makeshift metal dwellings and stone houses complete with wooden window frames, said she had until August 25 to clear her belongings. “I’m going to miss my medicinal herbs so much,” said Lam, in her sixties, who declined to give her full name. She pointed to the plants at her door that she inherited after moving to the village more than a dozen years ago, saying she would not have space for them when rehoused. The plants, such as Chinese fevervine, are a source of income for her as she dries them for medicinal use. Lam said that redevelopment work deprived her of space to regularly sun-dry them to keep the plants from moulding, causing her to forgo more than HK$400,000 (US$50,980) in potential earnings. Her letters to the Chief Executive’s Office asking for compensation for her products have not yielded a substantial response so far, but she revealed her family of three had received just under HK$80,000 from the government for the forced relocation. “Of course, it is a shame to have to vacate. I had planned to stay here for life,” Lam said, pointing out that she and former neighbours who had already left the village would regularly get together for dim sum. The government’s acquisition work had begun in 2023, with staff from the Lands Department, anti-triad unit of police, Fire Services Department and security companies entering the village for a new round of operations on Wednesday morning.