LCQ19: Making effective use of charitable resources to support residents of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po
******************************************************************************************
Question:
It has been reported that following the major fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, a number of charitable institutions and charitable funds have swiftly allocated funds to assist the affected individuals. Among these organisations, the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited undertook to make an initial donation of $100 million to support the Government's post-disaster reconstruction efforts. The Government has also established the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po (the Support Fund) to provide support for the residents. Furthermore, some members of the community are concerned about how the Government coordinates major charitable institutions to participate in providing support and implementing specific assistance programmes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has taken the initiative to contact and co-ordinate major charitable institutions to participate in offering assistance since the outbreak of the fire disaster at Wang Fuk Court; if so, which charitable institutions are currently providing or have committed to providing support services to the affected individuals, and of the respective scale and implementation timetables of such support initiatives;
(2) of the specific details of, eligibility criteria and approval mechanisms for the various assistance programmes currently offered through the Support Fund and the charitable institutions mentioned in (1); whether the Government will encourage these charitable institutions to expand the scope of support of their assistance programmes to provide long-term support for residents of Wang Fuk Court, including offering assistance to residents in alleviating their pressure of property mortgage payment, providing professional psychological counselling and employment support for the residents, as well as rebuilding community networks;
(3) of the specific measures put in place by the Government to ensure that the Support Fund and the charitable institutions maintain a high level of transparency in using the donations raised for the fire disaster at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, including whether it will require the Support Fund and the charitable institutions to regularly disclose to the public the progress and effectiveness of their efforts in using the donations, so as to maintain public trust; and
(4) regarding the donation of $100 million pledged by the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited, whether the Government has formulated specific plans for using such donation, including the criteria for fund allocation, allocation priority and mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of fund usage, as well as whether it will establish a dedicated supervisory committee to ensure proper use of the donation?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB), the reply to Professor the Hon Priscilla Leung's question is as follows:
The Government notes that various organisations in the community have proactively offered different forms of support to persons affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Among them, the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited indicated earlier that upon completion of the relevant procedures, it will provide an initial donation of $100 million to support the rebuilding work. It is understood that the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited has yet to make a final decision on the use of the donation, and the relevant procedures are still in progress. In addition, on January 6 this year, the Lands Tribunal handed down a ruling on the Government's application made under section 31 of the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) (BMO), formally approving the dissolution of the incumbent management committee of the Wang Fuk Court owners' corporation, and appointed Hop On Management Company Limited under the Chinachem Group as the administrator of the estate. The administrator will not charge any fees for this appointment. Meanwhile, the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited has pledged to donate a further $10 million to cover the administrator's day-to-day operational expenses and the cost of engaging professional services.
The Government understands that charitable organisations will formulate and implement different support services having regard to their operational circumstances and objectives. These organisations will also monitor the implementation of their projects according to their own management mechanisms. To facilitate the implementation of these support services, the LWB has earlier liaised with some major charitable organisations so that they may, where necessary, make good use of the "one social worker per household" arrangement to render assistance to affected persons.
In addition to the support launched by different organisations on their own initiative, the Government understands that members of the public and organisations also wish to make donations. Under the instruction of the Chief Executive, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) set up the the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po (Support Fund) on November 27, 2025 to provide assistance to affected persons and support relevant works, helping them address the difficulties that they faced and support their long-term needs. The Government has injected a start-up capital of $300 million into the Support Fund, and donations from individuals and private organisations are accepted, making it a fund contributed by the community as a whole. As of January 26, 2026, the total amount of the Support Fund has reached $4.5 billion.
The work of the Support Fund is overseen by the Steering Committee on the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, convened by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration. The Committee advises on matters relating to the operation of the fund, as well as supervises and monitors the establishment and implementation of support measures thereunder. Since the establishment of the Support Fund, the HYAB, in collaboration with other relevant policy bureaux, has been closely monitoring the needs of the residents, examining different proposals, and rolling out various support measures as appropriate. Most measures are disbursed through the Social Welfare Department (SWD)'s "one social worker per household" arrangement to minimise administrative procedures and facilitate prompt distribution of funds to residents. To date, the Support Fund has rolled out 11 financial support services covering three main areas, with a total financial commitment of approximately $1.2 billion, accounting for around 30 per cent of the total amount of the Support Fund. The Support Fund's account will be submitted to the Director of Audit for audit pursuant to the relevant statutory requirements, and the Support Fund's report will also be tabled to the Legislative Council.
Ends/Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:12
Issued at HKT 12:12
NNNN