Hong Kong merchant and financier of the original China DailyLi Ki-tong, who met Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1895 and joined the Revive China Society in 1900, provided his farm to the Society as its secret base in 1901. The farm provided cover and sustenance to the group for the planning of its coup attempts in Guangzhou and Wuhan. In 1968, a proposal was made by lawmaker Ellen Li, specifying that a memorial garden and museum be set up in the area. The proposal was declined because British colonial officials did not want to collaborate with the pro-TaiwanSun Yat-sen Memorial Association of Hong Kong, a group which made repeated requests for the conservation of the site. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the District Council of Tuen Mun proposed spending HKD $86M to restore the area, but it did not move forward. The house and garden remained in the Li family as of 2011 but was subject of a controversial sale to a mainlander in November 2016 for HKD $5M. In February 2017, 300 people protested the demolition of a wall by the new owner. It was declared a proposed monument by the Antiquities Advisory Board on 9 March 2017 to protect the building from further modifications and damages, for a period of one full year. In October 2017, the owner applied for a subsidy from the government, which mandated that the building should not be demolished or sold 10 years after restoration. In December 2017, the government decided to not promote the building as a declared monument, due to lack of concrete evidence linking the building to the 1911 revolution. Since the Double Tenth Festival in 2018, celebrations of the Republic of ChinaNational Day and Establishment Day are obstructed by the owner that the participants are not allowed to enter the grounds.
Sun Yat-sen Commemorative Garden
Lying on the same plot of land and adjacent to the house is a garden commemorating Dr. Sun Yat-sen and one of few places in Hong Kong where the flag of the Republic of China is hoisted continuously. It was built in 1983, and contains an obelisk and statue of Sun Yat-sen. The garden has been vandalized several times; in 2002, the statue or Dr. Sun Yat-sen was vandalized, and three Arenga trees were cut down. In 2014, the statue and monument were vandalized again, the signboard and a few steles were broken, and many Republic of China flags were torn. According to Johnny Mak, District Councillor of Yuen Long, ceremonies have happened at the garden and Hung Lau every January 1 and October 10th since 1968, with Mak currently serving as the primary organizer of the October 10th ceremonies. Mak is the chairman of the Highwise Yuen Long Service Centre, the group that manages the memorial garden. Ceremonies have been attended by pro-Taiwan people, as well as officials from the Chung Hwa Travel Service, the precursor of TECO in Hong Kong.
