Now that the legality of liveaboards has been ‘clarified’ by the Marine Department, I’m sure that there will be some unfortunate civil servants under a lot of pressure to ‘obey the law’ and ’do the right thing’. Spare a thought also for the Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of HKRI, Victor Cha, who is probably getting it in the ear from his wife Laura who is a member of the HK Executive Council. There’s the strong risk of loss of face if she is seen to be benefiting from income from an ‘illegitimate’ source in this case taking money from ‘illegal liveaboards’ - we all know where Donald Tsang ended up.
There is ultimately the risk of ‘contagion’ whereby the Marine Department is compelled to take a stand and enforce the current legislation on all houseboats. I’ve found that the HK Govt are fairly pragmatic up to the point that circumstances force them to make a statement and enforce the law. Once they engage that mindset they are ruthlessly efficient.
Contrary to remarks from other forum users, I don’t take any pleasure in adding to the misery and agonizing stress that the boat owners are experiencing.
The essential issue is that government officials have come out and clearly stated their statutory position. The fact that the DB Marina Club is closing for ‘renovation’ and may or may not reopen is immaterial, as is a general absence of available berths. A bright light has been shone on houseboats, and knowing how efficient and inflexible the bureaucrats can be, I’m not optimistic.