Hong Kong’s seventh Community Living Room, located in Sham Shui Po East, opened on Monday and received around 250 membership applications from individuals in need, including subdivided flat tenants, who require additional space or facilities for activities.
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Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki noted that the facility, spanning approximately 3,600 square feet, occupies the former China Merchants Bank premises.
The venue is provided rent-free by China Merchants Group and is exempt from management fees, with the group also covering renovation costs.
Operated by Pok Oi Hospital, the Sham Shui Po East Community Living Room is projected to serve at least 500 subdivided flat households annually, with an estimated 80,000 user visits per year.
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Meanwhile, Chan announced that two new Community Living Rooms will open in Kowloon City and Sham Shui Po in the third quarter of the year.
This expansion will increase the total number of Community Living Rooms to nine, thereby enhancing the capacity to accommodate 4,000 households residing in subdivided flats and projecting approximately 610,000 annual visits.
A tenant living in a 100-square-foot subdivided flat said he and his daughter visit the Community Living Room at least three times a week.
He described his cramped living conditions as oppressive, with even basic appliances such as the rice cooker having been placed on the washing machine, leaving him able to prepare only simple meals.
The Community Living Room provides various cooking utensils and more spacious kitchen facilities, enabling the preparation of diverse meals, he added.
