A brother of Hong Kong political heavyweight Henry Tang has allegedly breached land lease terms by using a designated industrial site to run other businesses, Apple Daily has found.

The site of Photomask (H.K.) Limited, a technological firm co-owned by Tom Tang in the Tai Po industrial estate, was used to provide services for the pro-Beijing Wusih Residents (H.K.) Association Limited, which he chaired, in violation of land lease terms, according to an Apple Daily investigation.

Photomask is a flagship technological company run by the Tang family and Tom Tang holds 13% of its shares. His elder brother, Henry Tang, is a member of China’s top advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and a former chief secretary of Hong Kong, the city’s second-in-command.

In August last year, the younger Tang led a group of pro-Beijing demonstrators to stage a rally outside Western Police Station in support of the force’s “strict action” against pro-democracy protesters.

Apple Daily last week visited Photomask’s office and learned from a personal secretary of Tang that the Wusih association moved into the same premises after he was elected chairperson in 2018.

In a reply to Apple Daily’s enquiry, a spokesperson for Tang confirmed that the association was using the industrial site as its office and said this was a common practice among similar groups. Tang and the association were moving out of the Tai Po premises soon, the spokesperson said.

The Tai Po industrial estate is one of three designated industrial zones operated by the government-run Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. Occupants can run only specific businesses stated on the land lease.

The HKSTP said it sent inspectors to the industrial zones yearly to check whether occupants abided by the leasing terms. If breaches were found, the corporation would ask the occupants to stop the related behavior. It would also take action on violators in accordance with the lease.

In August, police conducted a high-profile search of Apple Daily’s headquarters in the Tseung Kwan O industrial zone, alleging the newspaper breached land lease terms by running other businesses at the site.

The police action contrasted with the normally mild practices of dealing with land lease violations, clearly showing that the force was targeting Next Digital, the parent company of Apple Daily, said Democratic Party legislator Lam Cheuk-ting. It also reflected a declining fairness in the way cases were handled by law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, Lam said. The judiciary had issued the court warrant for the search of Apple Daily’s offices.

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