Bruce Lee’s old home torn down

DEMOLITION work began on the former home of kung fu icon Bruce Lee (李小龍) in Kowloon Tong (九龍塘), after negotiations failed between the government and its owner.
The star’s local fan club expressed “deep disappointment” over the demolition, saying it was a “tragedy”. It added: “The home of a star of an era will finally turn to dust. Since neither the owner nor the government supported us to keep it as a heritage site, the house will disappear forever.”
In 2008, the government held discussions with the owner over the possibility of turning the two-story house on Cumberland Road (金巴倫道) into a museum, but failed to agree on a plan.
The Bruce Lee Club said the government did not respond positively to suggestions to convert the house into a memorial hall, which it described as a potential “great tourist spot”.
A spokesman said, “I don’t think you can find a person in Hong Kong who is as famous and has fans all over the world, and we could have had the former residence as a memorial hall.”
After Lee passed away in 1973, billionaire philanthropist Yu Panglin (余彭年) bought the house the following year. In 2008, Yu suggested donating the house to the government to build a memorial hall for Lee but the proposal was shelved in late 2010 after both parties failed to reach an agreement.
The charity, which now manages the site, intends to turn it into a Chinese studies centre that offers classes in Chinese painting, and will try to restore the appearance of the former residence.

(This article is published on Junior Standard on 03 October 2019)

Bruce Lee Foundation
http://brucelee.com

Bruce Lee Fan Club
http://bit.ly/2nlfW5p