Got into a heated discussion with a coworker over this. My stance is it was probably for the best it was demolished. The entire thing was a massive fire and disease hazard. Massive amounts of crime and unlicensed businesses too. Despite its reputation for a kind of tight knit anarchist type community, most of the stuff I've read seems to suggest triads and the HK police were largely running the place.
I hate forceful eviction as much as the next person here. What else could have been done? There was some compensation given to the residents, but I know some residents complained it wasn't enough.
My coworker's stance is the place should have remained as it was, without any sort of intervention whatsoever, despite being so hazardous.
How do y'all feel?
Is there data out there about how the former KWC residents feel about it? From an outsider's perspective it definitely seems like living in any given place in Hong Kong is probably better than the conditions they were living under, but the only people who would know for sure are those who lived it.
The only ethical way to handle the situation would have been for some kind of organization to emerge among the KWC residents that could negotiate the relocation as a political unit, because without that the only other thing that can end up happening is an external government comes in and dictates terms to them, which is precisely what the HK government did.
I like this take
The triad gangsters ran the place.