Beijing’s National Security Office in Hong Kong Buys a $64.7 Million Villa

The property purchased by the National Security Office, Villa 1, Mont Rouge, 9 Lung Kui Road, Beacon Hill, Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Screenshot from Google map

The Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong (National Security Office), established in 2020, purchased a luxury villa in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, in October for $64.7 million (HK$508 million).

The National Security Office purchased Villa No 1 in Mont Rouge at No. 9 Lung Kui Road, Beacon Hill, developed by Kerry Properties, and the buyer has 60-days to complete the transaction.

The property is the largest villa in Mont Rouge, with a usable area of 7,171 sq ft, a total of five bedrooms, a 691 sq ft patio, a 5,014 sq ft garden, a rooftop of 1,306 sq ft, and three parking spaces. The transaction price was as high as HK$508 million (US$64.7 million), equivalent to HK$70,841 (US$9,024.8) per sq ft. Mont Rouge is located at Beacon Hill, with five villas, 14 houses, and two residential buildings.

According to a video from YouTube channel “一路看房 Louis WonG” (a property introduction channel), the villa has a private road, a built-in lift, and is an anti-theft safe house; the main living room is seven meters (23 ft) wide and 18 meters (59 ft) long, and the hollow hall is seven meters high.

According to the Stamp Duty Ordinance, the Chinese regime, the Hong Kong Government (HKgov), or any incorporated public officer or any person acting in his capacity as a public officer shall not be liable for the payment of stamp duty (a government tax on the sale/transfer of properties). Therefore, the National Security Office is also exempted from paying stamp duty.

Where Does the Money Come From?

In an interview with The Epoch Times, Scholar Chung Kim-wah questioned why the National Security Office needed to buy a villa and where the money was coming from. “As an official residence of the National Security Commissioner? Does it spend taxpayer money? If taxpayer money is spent, has it adopted the government’s public finance procedures? Was there a bidding process? Does it need to be explained to the Legislative Council?” He believes that the HKgov and the National Security Office should explain clearly and question if the practice employed, was legal.

Chung Kim-wah pointed out that this transaction took place during a slumping property market. The office bought the villa at a high price of $64.7 million, setting a new high for the property price of first-hand luxury houses in Kowloon. Chung questioned if someone had benefited from the transaction in order to help the sellers cash out the villa at a high price.

Possible Corruption Case?

Current affairs commentator Tony Choi in his online radio program “Tuesday Road,” criticized the National Security Office for becoming a hotbed of corruption. Except for the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, no other agency can supervise the National Security Office. Choi described the transaction as a possible case of corruption and questioned who would live in the newly purchased villa, whether it was Zheng Yanxiong, the head of the National Security Office, or someone else. If it is Zheng, whether his secret residence had been exposed to the public, and whether there was anything lawless in the transaction. In addition, he pointed out that the role of the National Security Office is to be responsible for “maintaining national security” “what is the point of having a villa to socialize and entertain? It needs to be investigated whether anyone received commissions during the transaction.”

HK Government Denys Using Public Money

When responding to media inquiries, the HKgov did not explain the details of the purchase of the luxury villa, only responded that according to Article 48 of the “Hong Kong National Security Law,” “the Central People’s Government shall establish a National Security Office in Hong Kong,” and Article 51 of the “Hong Kong National Security Law” also stipulates that the National Security Office shall be funded by the Communist Party of China.

In 2021, HKgov stated in the Budget that it would allocate about $1 billion (HK$8 billion) for the maintenance of national security expenditures, and the relevant allocation will be used for the next few years. The details and establishment of national security expenditures are highly confidential and will not be disclosed to the public. The HK$8 billion appropriation does not involve the funds of the National Security Office, and its funds are guaranteed by the Communist Party of China.

Communist China HK Liaison Office Holds 757 Properties

The current Legislative Council member Eddie Chu Hoi-dick and the former Legislative Council member Nathan Law Kwun-chung held a press conference in April 2020 to publish the Report on Liaison Office’s Property Empire in Hong Kong. The report pointed out that as of Feb. 28, 2019, the Liaison Office, directly and indirectly, holds as many as 757 property units, including 722 residential properties, 12 office units, and eight shops. The properties and 15 parking spaces were included in the purchase price, and the total value was estimated to be about $433 million (HK$3.4 billion)

The report found that since the 2014 Hong Kong protests, the Liaison Office has bought an additional 137 residential units across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. The disbanded Demosistō questioned whether the Liaison Office deliberately concealed the purchase of properties and manpower growth and further eroded Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy by means of a “shadow government.”