Hong Kong’s railway giant has restored the names of two well-known public housing estates on an exit sign at Ho Man Tin after facing a public backlash for replacing them with that of a new luxury residential estate built above the station.
Advertisement
Exit A of Ho Man Tin station previously read “Oi Man Estate/Ho Man Tin Estate” before the MTR Corporation changed it to “Onmantin”, the name of the estate jointly developed by the railway operator and Great Eagle.
The move drew widespread criticism for appearing to favour affluent residents while discriminating against tenants of long-established public housing estates in the neighbourhood.
Some commuters also found the new sign confusing and suspected the change was free publicity for the developers.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, among those who complained to the MTR, had argued the update was unreasonable.
Advertisement
“The exit directly links to the new private estate, and you can simply add its name to the sign,” he said. “Oi Man Estate is one of Hong Kong’s oldest large public housing developments, and a large proportion of its residents use the MTR. The move essentially overlooks them for those living in luxury homes.”