Hong Kong’s MTR Corp faces renewed backlash over station sign changes
Complaints mount over ‘Amoy Gardens’ exit sign replacement at Kowloon Bay station shortly after rail giant reinstates public estate names at Ho Man Tin
Hong Kong’s rail giant is facing a renewed backlash over signage renaming after the firm hastily restored the names of two long-established public housing estates at an exit sign at Ho Man Tin station.
Public anger first erupted over the name change at Ho Man Tin station’s exit A sign, which previously read “Oi Man Estate/Ho Man Tin Estate” before the MTR Corporation updated it to “Onmantin”, the name of the project jointly developed by the railway operator and Great Eagle.
Shortly after the MTR Corp restored the names, residents around Kowloon Bay station also voiced their anger over the replacement of the “Amoy Gardens” exit B sign with the newly launched East Kowloon Cultural Centre. Amoy Gardens is a 44-year-old private housing estate with about 5,000 households in the district.
The earlier name change at Ho Man Tin drew widespread criticism for appearing to favour affluent residents while discriminating against tenants of long-established public housing estates in the neighbourhood.
Some commuters also found the new sign confusing and suspected the change was free publicity for the developers.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, among those who complained to the MTR Corp, had argued the update was unreasonable.