theme 1 unit (2) ties to the homeland - hkedcity.net · theme 1 unit 2 primary 5 theme 1 unit 2...

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Primary 5Theme 1Unit 2


Theme 1 Unit (2) Ties to the Homeland

In this unit, Ling Ling brought her grandmother to visit her old neighbours in Choi Yuen Tsuen, Shek Kong, Yuen Long. They found that the villagers needed to move away because the Government would resume the land for development. The story points out that the Basic Law protects the lawful traditional rights of the indigenous residents of the “New Territories”, as well as the freedom of speech and of procession of Hong Kong citizens. The design of the learning materials in this unit is based on the relevant articles in Chapter V: Economy, of the Basic Law. The key learning points are as follows:

Learning Activity 1: Uncle Wong’s Heartfelt Words✧ Students know that the Basic Law protects the private properties of Hong Kong residents.✧ Students know that the development of infrastructure in village land will affect the

residents there.✧ Students learn that the indigenous residents of the “New Territories” can have small house

concessionary rights.✧ Students agree that the Basic Law protects Hong Kong residents so that they can have the

freedom of speech, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration.

Learning Activity 2: Land Resumption✧ Students try to think from different angles and express personal opinions on resuming

village land for development.✧ Students think about how to balance between individual interests and social development

through case studies.

The suggested learning time for this unit is 2 hours.

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Key Learning Points:✧ Students know that the Basic Law protects the private properties of Hong Kong residents.✧ Students know that the development of infrastructure in village land will affect the residents there.✧ Students learn that the indigenous residents of the “New Territories” can have small house

concessionary rights.✧ Students agree that the Basic Law protects Hong Kong residents so that they can have the freedom

of speech, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration.

Suggested Learning Time:1 hour

Procedures:

Learning Activity 1: Uncle Wong’s Heartfelt Words

Learning Experiences Relevant Materials

(1) Introduction➢ With the use of the newspaper clippings about development and

preservation, teachers suggest to students that social development sometimes involves land resumption.

(2) Development➢ Watching Short Video:

1. Watch the short video, “Choi Yuen Tsuen in Yuen Long”. (Refer to Appendix 1 for the contents.)

2. Students share their opinions on different characters regarding the land resumption incident in the short video.Teachers’ Questions:- Why does the Government resume the land of Choi Yuen Tsuen?

(to build the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link)- Why is it good for Hong Kong to build the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong

Kong Express Rail Link? (e.g. This strengthens the link between China and Hong Kong. / This shortens transportation time. / This promotes economic development.)

- If you were Uncle Wong, what would you think?- Do you agree with grandmother? Why?- Do you agree with uncle? Why?- Why are Uncle Wong and grandmother not the indigenous residents

of the “New Territories”?3. Students share their views on this land resumption incident.

➢ Play the computer game, “My Home, My Land”. (See Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 for the relevant contents.) After finishing the computer game, students share their discoveries and discuss the questions below:- In the game, can the non-indigenous residents build small houses in the

village of the indigenous residents? Why? (No, because the Basic Law states that only the offspring of the indigenous residents have the rights of inheritance.)

- May all the indigenous residents build small houses? (No, female indigenous residents cannot build small houses.)

• Short Video:Choi Yuen Tsuen in Yuen Long

• Computer game:My Home, My Land

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- Is there any limit for the number of small houses each male indigenous resident may build? (Yes, he may build one small house only.)

(3) Brief Summary➢ According to the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

(HKSAR) protects the lawful traditional rights of the indigenous residents of the “New Territories”. The right includes the small house concessionary rights and the rights of inheritance.

➢ After 1997, the Government recognized and protected the land leases that were lawful before Hong Kong was returned to China. If the HKSAR Government resumes private land for development, it needs to pay the right amount of compensation.

Tips for Teachers:1. It is good for teachers to be objective when discussing with students the rights of inheritance of the small

houses, and encourage students to think about the problems from the angles of different stakeholders (e.g. villagers, councillors, Government) and form their own viewpoints.

References for Teachers:鄭赤琰(2000)《基本法與原居民合法傳統權益：從國際經驗談起》香港：嶺南大學族群與海外華

人經濟研究部。

Relevant Articles of the Basic Law:• Article 40

The lawful traditional rights and interests of the indigenous inhabitants of the “New Territories” shall be protected by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

• Article 105 Clauses 1 and 2The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall, in accordance with law, protect the right of individuals and legal persons to the acquisition, use, disposal and inheritance of property and their right to compensation for lawful deprivation of their property.

Such compensation shall correspond to the real value of the property concerned at the time and shall be freely convertible and paid without undue delay.

• Article 120All leases of land granted, decided upon or renewed before the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region which extend beyond 30 June 1997, and all rights in relation to such leases, shall continue to be recognized and protected under the law of the Region.

• Article 122In the case of old schedule lots, village lots, small houses and similar rural holdings, where the property was on 30 June 1984 held by, or , in the case of small houses granted after that date, where the property is granted to, a lessee descended through the male line from a person who was in 1898 a resident of an established village in Hong Kong, the previous rent shall remain unchanged so long as the property is held by that lessee or by one of his lawful successors in the male line.

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Appendix 1Choi Yuen Tsuen, Yuen Long

In the story, Ling Ling’s family took the MTR with grandmother and uncle to Yuen Long and visit their old neighbour Uncle Wong in Choi Yuen Tsuen. On the way, they witnessed the development of the transportation network after Hong Kong was returned to China. This includes the merger of the two railways, the completed West Rail Line and Disneyland Resort Line, the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) under construction, and the construction work of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link that was about to begin. The Basic Law states that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides a suitable economic environment to keep Hong Kong an international financial centre. The construction of an extensive transportation network helps shorten the time of transportation and promote economic development.

At the end of the story, when Ling Ling’s family visited Uncle Wong, they learned that the Government would resume the land of Choi Yuen Tsuen to build the Express Rail Link, and had to make compensation and arrange residence for the villagers. The Government may resume private land for development in accordance with the law, but it needs to make suitable compensation to the people for the resumed properties. Also, the Basic Law protects the lawful traditional rights of the indigenous residents of the “New Territories”, including the rights of inheritance of the land of the village houses and the small houses.

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Appendix 2My Home, My LandGuidelines to the Computer Game

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According to the Basic Law, Siu Fat’s ancestors were residents of the villages that were already in Hong Kong in 1898. Therefore, he has the small house concessionary rights – the lawful traditional rights of the indigenous residents.



Appendix 3My Home, My LandAnswers and Explanationsto the “?”

Questions in the Computer Game

When Auntie Chan was married to Lee’s family, she already became a member of the indigenous residents, so she has the lawful traditional rights. (This includes burying her in her husband’s village land.)

The Basic Law protects the land title of the small houses that was issued after 1984. There are limitations in the land grants for the small houses and the Building Licence about the use of small houses. Therefore, people cannot use the small houses for commercial purposes, such as tutorial schools.

The Basic Law protects private property. Even if the Government resumes the land, it needs to follow the law and pay the indigenous residents the compensation that is equal to the value of that time.

The Basic Law protects the lawful traditional rights of the indigenous residents of the “New Territories”. The lawful traditional rights state clearly that the male indigenous residents may apply to build one small house only.

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Those who speak the Weitou dialect may not be indigenous residents of the “New Territories”. According to the Basic Law, Siu Chun is an indigenous resident only if he is an offspring of the villagers who lived there before 1898.

The Basic Law protects the lawful traditional rights of the indigenous residents of the villages in Hong Kong. However, after the revised ordinances on the lawful traditional rights were passed, female indigenous residents would also be able to inherit the property, but they cannot enjoy the small house concessionary rights.

The Basic Law protects the lawful traditional rights of the original villagers in Hong Kong, but it does not mean that only indigenous residents may be elected as village representatives of the indigenous residents.

Nobody may become an indigenous resident simply because he/she bought a small house from the indigenous residents. According to the Basic Law, neither Man Kit nor his father has the small house concessionary rights.

Even though Man Man lived in a village in the New Territories, the recognized villages of the indigenous residents refer to the villages that were already in the New Territories in 1898.

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Key Learning Points:✧ Students try to think from different angles and express personal opinions on resuming village land for

development.✧ Students think about how to balance between individual interests and social development through

case studies.

Suggested Learning Time:1 hour

Procedures:

Learning Activity 2: Land Resumption


(1) Introduction➢ Teachers review Uncle Wong’s story with students.

(2) Development➢ Role Play:

1. In groups of four, each member chooses a role.2. Roles 1 and 2 read news article A; roles 3 and 4 read news article B.

(See Appendix 1 for the news articles.)3. According to the instructions on the role cards (Appendix 2), imagine

what the characters would say and jot down the key points.4. Three or four students who choose the same character form a specialist

group, exchange ideas and fill in the conversations in Appendix 2.5. Students return to their original groups and report their characters’ views

and reasons.6. Discuss what effects each character’s actions have on themselves and

other people.

➢ Class Discussion:1. In the activity, what are the different views among different characters?2. How good is it to resume the village land for development?3. What will happen if the Government stops developing that portion of

land because the villagers protest against the development? Are there other solutions for this?

(3) Brief Summary➢ The Basic Law protects the lawful traditional rights of the indigenous

residents of the “New Territories”.➢ The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) protects the

private property of Hong Kong residents.➢ The HKSAR Government shall make suitable compensation when resuming

private lands for development.➢ According to the Basic Law, Hong Kong residents enjoy the freedom of

speech, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration.

• Appendix:News Articles

• Appendix:Role Cards

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Tips for Teachers:1. Students collect the relevant news and articles of the Basic Law before the lessons. This helps them

design the conversations for the characters.2. During the discussion, it is good for teachers to encourage students to support their stances with the

relevant articles of the Basic Law.3. There are no standard answers to students’ discussion. Their answers are acceptable if they can

support their points with reasonable explanations. If students’ points are too narrow in scope, teachers may introduce other points to help students think about the issue from other angles.

4. For more capable students, they may do the role-play and develop their designed conversations into a mock debate.

5. For less capable students, they only need to fill in the conversations and teachers will select some examples to share with the whole class.

Relevant Articles of the Basic Law:• Article 27

Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike.

• Article 40The lawful traditional rights and interests of the indigenous inhabitants of the “New Territories” shall be protected by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

• Article 105 Clauses 1 and 2The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall, in accordance with law, protect the right of individuals and legal persons to the acquisition, use, disposal and inheritance of property and their right to compensation for lawful deprivation of their property.

Such compensation shall correspond to the real value of the property concerned at the time and shall be freely convertible and paid without undue delay.

• Article 120All leases of land granted, decided upon or renewed before the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region which extend beyond 30 June 1997, and all rights in relation to such leases, shall continue to be recognized and protected under the law of the Region.

• Article 122In the case of old schedule lots, village lots, small houses and similar rural holdings, where the property was on 30 June 1984 held by, or , in the case of small houses granted after that date, where the property is granted to, a lessee descended through the male line from a person who was in 1898 a resident of an established village in Hong Kong, the previous rent shall remain unchanged so long as the property is held by that lessee or by one of his lawful successors in the male line.

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News Article A



Appendix 1News Articles

Hundreds Protest Against Village Demolition with Green Ribbons

Hundreds of Choi Yuen Tsuen residents and their supporters gathered in Choi Yuen Tsuen, Shek Kong to protest against the Government’s proposal to demolish Choi Yuen Tsuen. The protest was against the construction of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and it took place before the Executive Council had a meeting to discuss the Express Rail Link proposal. They refused the compensation, insisting that they would never move away or allow the demolition of the village despite the amount of the compensation.

Choi Yuen Tsuen Concern Group initiated an assembly yesterday in Choi Yuen Tsuen, Shek Kong, to protest against the Government’s plan to demolish Choi Yuen Tsuen. They raised banners and shouted, “No Eviction, No Demolition”. They also took a group picture with green ribbons fastened on their hands.

The demolition of Choi Yuen Tsuen involved 150 families. Some villagers said that there was a strong bond among the villagers and they refused to move out. Auntie Wong said, “I bought the land with all my savings and built the house for my grandchildren. I will be very sorry for them if someone is going to destroy it.” Tong, another villager who has been living in Choi Yuen Tsuen for 23 years since birth, said that money could not buy the emotional bonds. “The Government cannot buy our emotional bonds to this village no matter how much it pays us.”

Summarized from Sing Tao Daily, 19 October 2009

News Article B

Eva Cheng: Humanised Land Resumption of Choi Yuen Tsuen

The resumption of the land of Choi Yuen Tsuen has been delayed once again. Some opposing councillors proposed yesterday to further delay the resumption for another half a year on the ground of “urgent questioning”. In response to this, Eva Cheng, Secretary for Transport and Housing, said that the Government had been handling the land resumption of Choi Yuen Tsuen in a humanized way, which did not involve the so-called “intimidating eviction” in any way. She added that the Government would continue to communicate with the 50 families that demanded the resumption of farming to reach a win-win agreement. She repeated that the land resumption of Choi Yuen Tsuen could afford no more delay because of the tight construction schedule of the Hong Kong section of the Express Rail Link.

As for the 50 families who planned to resume farming, Eva Cheng said that they had several face-to-face talks with the villagers, provided technical supports to them, and worked with Heung Yee Kuk to discuss and co-ordinate with other villagers about the issues of land and right of way. The Bureau stated many times that if the trade of land could be completed within days, the Government would study the plausible solutions and would work with their housing construction scheme in the coming few months in the hope that delay in the construction progress of the Express Rail Link could be avoided.

Meanwhile, regarding the compensation for the land and other concessional funding in relation to the Express Rail Link project, Eva Cheng said that the Government had issued $250 million to the residents of Choi Yuen Tsuen. The compensation for the land took up $160 million, while the concessional funding took up $72 million. Most of the villagers had already received the compensation, with each person receiving a compensation of $500,000 on average, while some families received a compensation of over $10 million. As for the compensation for the crops, the Bureau had a suitable mechanism to adjust the amount of compensation. Villagers who were not content with the arrangement might claim the compensation through other channels after they had moved out.

Summarized from Ta Kung Pao, 25 November 2010

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Role 1: Ms. Chan (Villager)

You grew up in the village and do not want to move out. You will not accept any compensation from the Government. What is more, the Basic Law protects your freedom of demonstration, so you will fight until the end to protect your homeland.



Appendix 2Role Cards

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Role 2: Uncle Lam (Villager)

You are already old. Your children and grandchildren do not want to work in the vegetable farm, so you are willing to move out. However, you think that it is reasonable only when the Government makes compensation for the vegetable field with the price of premises as the value of the farmland. Therefore, you want to fight for a higher amount of compensation.

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Role 3: Official of Transport and Housing Bureau

You know that there was no Choi Yuen Tsuen in Hong Kong before 1898. According to the Basic Law, the villagers are not the indigenous residents of the “New Territories”, and do not have the right to build small houses in Choi Yuen Tsuen. But you also agree that the Government should avoid being strict when handling the compensation and arranging housing for the residents. At the same time, however, you also wish the construction of the Express Rail Link to start as soon as possible, or the increasing cost will add burden to the society.

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Role 4: Legislative Councillor

You hope that the Government can balance the interests of all sides: while taking care of the needs of the villagers, the Government should meet the expectations of the society for a reasonable development.

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