Revue de presse du 4 février 2010

 Fung Shui master arrested on suspicion of forgery

The papers in prominent coverage, with 12 in their leads, reported the arrest of Fung Shui master Tony Chan some 30 hours after the High Court found that the 2006 will of the late Chinachem chairman Nina Wang leaving him her multi-billion estate was a forgery.

Reports noted that he was being questioned by the CCB at the Police Headquarters in Wan Chai last night and that his home and his Cyberport office were raided for evidence in relation to the alleged forgery of the will.

In headlines, the HK Economic Journal said chances of the IRD demanding unpaid tax from Mr Chan were extremely high, estimating that the amount of tax owed together with penalty would be in excess of $1 billion.

The paper also took the view that as Mr Chan loved squandering money, it was likely that he would go bankrupt.

 Catholic Church loses court battle over school reform

The SCMP in a front-page story and many other papers in their inside-page leads reported that the Catholic Diocese of HK had lost a second legal challenge against the Education Ordinance which required the church to include outside parties into its school management committees.

Reports noted that the diocese launched the appeal against an earlier judgment that upheld Government-mandated school management reforms that would wrest the operation of Catholic schools from the absolute control of the church. The appellant argued that the reforms diluted its control and that it contravened the BL.

In his judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Stock disagreed with the appellant’s submission that the changes contravened provisions of the BL and he did not find the amendments under the reforms offended the freedom guaranteed in the education system in HK.

The ruling held that the schools still remained autonomous under the reforms as sponsoring bodies could still maintain their autonomy through the inclusion of parents, teachers and alumni in the management committees.

The court judgment also noted that schools ran by religious institutions had always been subjected to Government supervision and that the ordinance sought to achieve greater transparency and efficiency of management, and enhanced accountability to the public purse.

 FTU to boycott by-elections

The papers in good coverage reported that the Federation of Trade Union yesterday announced that it would not take part in the by-elections triggered by the resignation of five pan-democratic legislators and would not canvass for other candidates.

FTU president Cheng Yiu-tong said a growing number of its members opposed contesting the by-elections because the LSD and the Civic Party were using slogans such as « uprising of the people » and « liberating HK ». Asked if the federation would urge its supporters to stay away from the ballot box or cast blank votes, Mr Cheng said it was up to the voters to decide.

His colleague Wong Kwok-kin said the federation was inclined not to support granting funding for holding the by-elections, but it would be difficult for them to vote down the funding application if the Government sought the funding by bundling it with the forthcoming Budget. He urged the Government to lodge a separate funding application rather than including the extra funding in the Budget.

Meanwhile, the papers reported in moderate coverage that Legco President Tsang Yok-sing yesterday decided that the quorum for Legco meetings should maintain at 30 following the resignation of five legislators. He had not ruled on whether the number of « all Legco members » should be 55 or 60 and left it to be studied by Legco’s Committee on Rules of Procedure.

Reports noted that legislators in general considered the decision appropriate and that the committee would meet on March 1 to discuss the interpretation of « all Legco members ».

A few papers noted that BL Committee deputy director Elise Leung took the view that the number of « all Legco members » should be 60, saying that « all Legco members » as stated in Annex II of the BL and the Legco Ordinance referred to 60 legislators.

 Inspection of 362 old blocks completed in two days

Some papers in moderate coverage reported that the Buildings Department had completed inspections on 362 buildings which were more than 50 years old in two days, none requiring immediate repairs but repair orders had been issued to about 30 of them for better maintenance.

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam stressed that while no « category one » block which would need immediate repairs was identified, the problem of old buildings was becoming more serious and a law for mandatory repair should not be delayed any further.

Mrs Lam, however, maintained that the Government alone could not handle such a large-scale situation and property owners must cooperate with the authorities.

It was understood that while the BD would finish inspections on all 4,000-strong blocks which were more than 50 years old throughout HK within a month, it was estimated that there would be an increase of some 550 every year.

Structural engineer Greg Wong doubted the « speed » in which the BD had completed inspecting more than 300 old blocks in two days, holding that the examination was too hasty as it would take at least two to three hours to finish one.

 ’Govt to study raising stamp duty for luxury properties’

Quoting sources, the HK Economic Times reported in an exclusive story that the Government was actively considering raising the stamp duty for luxury properties worth over $20 million and concurrently imposing restrictions on delaying stamp duty payment with a view to cool down speculations in the heated property market.

The sources pointed out that in assessing the latest situation in the property market, the Government was concerned about the middle-class « wait-and-see » attitude in deciding whether to buy properties in view of the high property prices and would study the increase of land supply to stabilise property prices.

Regarding recent discussions that the post-80s’ young people faced difficulties in becoming home buyers, the sources said the Government took the view that it should not play an active role in launching measures to encourage them to join the property market.

 Anti-XRL Alliance rejects invitation to online forum

The Anti-XRL Alliance formed by the post-80s issued a statement last night rejecting the invitation extended by Transport and Housing Bureau to a one-hour online forum on Saturday morning for encouraging participation in the planning of transport infrastructure initiatives, several papers reported in moderate coverage.

The alliance expressed dissatisfaction over the « sneaking away » of STH Eva Cheng after Legco had approved the funding for the XRL project and her refusal to meet with the protesters using various excuses.

The alliance said it could not accept a closed-door discussion through an online-exchange at the non-peak hours of Saturday morning, holding that the Government should maintain direct dialogue with the public.

It requested the Government to conduct an open forum in a public place instead and broadcast live the whole course of the discussion.

The HK Economic Times quoted a Government source as saying that the holding of an online forum was the first step towards enhancing communication with young people, describing it as a high-risk move as messages left by the web surfers were unexpected.

 MTRC invites tenders for Austin Station residential project

The papers in good coverage reported that the MTRC was inviting tenders for a residential development on the podium of Austin Station in West Kowloon, less than a week after the invitation for expression of interest for the project was closed last Friday.

Most papers played up in their headlines that the development involved an $11.7 billion land premium, or $9,140 per square foot, an all-time high for a single development project.

While some developers, including Sun Hung Kai, Wheelock Properties and Nan Fung Development, had expressed interest for submitting tenders, some papers quoted unnamed developers as saying that the three-week tender invitation period, which would close on February 24, was too short.

The MTRC had stated in the tender invitation document that developers could opt whether they would accept the offer by the corporation to pay for one-third of the land premium, amounting to about $3.9 billion.

 Stock indices update