'Govt Plan Still Means Subsidising Private Clubs'

Liber Research Community has slammed the government's proposal on private club land unveiled on Tuesday, saying it is still like subsidising exclusive joints with public money.

For a public consultation exercise that was launched on Tuesday, the government has proposed that private sports clubs pay one-third of the full land value as a fee when they renew their leases every 15 years, starting from 2026. Most of them are currently charged little or no premium.

But Brian Wong, a member of the think tank, said the one third land value as a premium is now being paid by community service facilities, such as schools and churches. "But the condition is that they are not supposed to make money and run a business on that piece of land," he said.

"So if you charge them only one third premium and at the same time allow them to provide food and beverage services, sauna rooms, mahjong rooms, then that is absolutely unfair. It is like you are subsidising them to do private business," Wong said.

He said to promote sports, facilities have to be open to the public and inclusive. "But if at the same time you make the club house remain exclusive to its members, there is a contradiction," he said.

Wong said that each club should be examined on a case by case basis to see what service it is providing and if it fails to contribute to the community, the lease must be ended.

He also told RTHK's Jimmy Choi that those clubs who want to remain exclusive can do so by paying full land premiums as some private clubs already do.