'Liaison Office Expanding Its HK Property Empire'

Pro-democracy group Demosisto said on Monday that Beijing's liaison office has been extending its reach across Hong Kong by dramatically expanding its property "empire" since the 2014 Occupy protests.

Demosisto said it has found that the office has now bought up 757 properties in Hong Kong, worth some HK$3.4 billion.

The group said more than 130 properties have been added to the liaison office's portfolio since 2014.

The vast majority are residential units, but the liaison office also has 10 entire buildings, 12 offices, eight commercial units, and 15 carparks, Demosisto said.

The group said it looked into the office's property ownership to get a better handle on the scale of its operations in the city, and also found that over the past five years, the office was exempted from paying HK$124 million in stamp duty.

Demosisto's Nathan Law said the expansion shows how the liaison office has accelerated its authority over the SAR, in line with political developments in the city.

"Clearly, they are not only playing the role of being a bridge between the Hong Kong people and the Chinese government. They are literally interfering in our local affairs and damaging our autonomy," the disqualified lawmaker said.

"It acts as proof for the international community that the degree of autonomy in Hong Kong has dwindled and has been damaged by the expansion of the liaison office," Law added.

Demosisto's Joshua Wong said they will be submitting their findings to the UK government's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong, as well as the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the US State Department.

Demosisto's report comes just days after the liaison office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office issued unprecedented statements berating the actions of pro-democracy legislators and suggesting some should be prosecuted for misconduct in public office.

The liaison office has insisted it is not subject to Article 22 of the Basic Law which states that departments of the central government must not interfere in Hong Kong affairs.