Pro-democracy retailer ordered to make multiple rectifications as Buildings Dep’t threatens court

A pro-democracy retailer in Prince Edward has been ordered by the government to rectify multiple defects at its ground-floor shop and replace its signboard.

Pro-democracy shop As One starts to dismantle the signboard on August 3, 2026. Photo: Supplied.

As One, a business run by former District Councillor Derek Chu which sells books and groceries, started to receive letters from the Buildings Department last October, a month after it rented a new store on Tai Nan Street.

The department ordered the landlord, and Chu as the tenant, to replace the store’s exterior signboard as it was in breach of the Buildings Ordinance, Chu told HKFP on Thursday.

They were also ordered to adjust the positions of five outdoor air conditioners and dismantle iron sheets covering the backyard.

According to letters shared with HKFP, authorities also said that the issues may pose a fire risk and cause inconvenience to members of the public.

In March, the landlord received a letter from the department saying it was considering launching a prosecution over the violations. Last month, they received another letter saying they would be brought to court in December if rectifications were not made, Chu told HKFP.

As One began removing the signage on Monday after communication with the landlord, Chu said, adding that they would also dismantle the iron sheets covering the backyard and adjust the outdoor air conditioning units.

“[T]he speed of the enforcement was unprecedentedly fast,” Chu said in Cantonese. “According to my experience as a District Councillor, the government usually allows more time for tenants and shop owners to coordinate on how to make rectifications.”

Workers dismantle signboards of the As One shop in Tai Nan Street on August 3, 2026. Photo: Supplied.

Workers dismantle signboards of the As One shop in Tai Nan Street on August 3, 2026. Photo: Supplied.

Chu told HKFP that the signboard was actually constructed 20 years ago, long before As One occupied the unit.

Chu said that, after signing the lease, he added a steel sheet to the existing signboard with the business’s Chinese name: “No major construction was made because we wanted to save money… And the signboard has been there for 20 years. If we are to be prosecuted, then all the [businesses with] signboards in Hong Kong should be prosecuted.”

Chu said the landlord will share costs of the rectifications with As One. He estimated costs to be around HK$30,000.

Restaurants, retailers and civil society groups affiliated with Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement have long complained of heightened bureaucratic scrutiny since the onset of the 2020 security law.

HKFP has reached out to the Buildings Department for a response.

Constantly on the move

Founded by Chu around four years ago, As One runs a physical and online shop. It sells made-in-Hong Kong groceries as well as books. It has also distributed candles for free on the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

Ex-District Councillor Derek Chu displays commemorative candles at his shop in Mong Kok on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Photo: Derek Chu via Facebook.

Before moving to the ground-floor shop in Tai Nan Street, As One ran a store in Mong Kok’s Good Hope Building: “We moved four times in four years within the Good Hope Building because landlords do not want to continue our lease,” Chu said.

In 2025, HKFP reported that Hunter Bookstore – an independent retailer – faced visits from multiple government departments, as well as a tax audit. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department alone made 35 visits.

A calendar in Hunter Bookstore showing inspections by the authorities. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

The shop said it received “greetings” from the Hong Kong Police Force; the Fire Services Department; the Companies Registry; the Books Registration Office, under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department; the Buildings Department; and the Labour Department over the course of three years.