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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: elmatador who wrote (42548)	11/9/2008 4:56:30 PM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 217631

some on the thread will have us believe that the govt will tolerate a state of is that would be depression when they can just counteract the 'problem' with more paper money, their favorite game even when there was no deflation just in in-tray, wayo on my island scmp.com Siege of Boracay hits HK investors Goons invade resort amid land rights row Nick Gentle Nov 09, 2008 Hong Kong investors will this week step up their campaign against what they say is a land grab by the Philippine government on the holiday island of Boracay. Their action comes days after a masked gang forced their way into the island's Sandcastles Resort and evicted staff and guests at gunpoint, trapping resort owners Greg and Viveca Hutchinson and their children inside. "We've heard [over the years] of people we know who have been killed and this is getting too close to home," said Mrs Hutchinson, who vowed: "We are not leaving." The growing lawlessness on Boracay has rattled Hong Kong residents and investors. Artist Ray Yip, who bought land on the island about 30 years ago, believes its reputation as a little slice of paradise is under threat. "Up to about 10 years ago it was really, really fantastic," said Yip. "But I have heard too many stories about murder, arson, all types of bad things happening ... it looks like this will take it down another couple of notches." Tomorrow a delegation of Boracay landowners will hold a news conference in Hong Kong in the hope of garnering international support for their campaign against a 2006 proclamation by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that the entire island belongs to the state. "It's very unfair," said Stephen Arseno, a lawyer and landowner who has been fighting the government's move in the courts. "This is an international issue because there are so many foreigners invested in Boracay. The Philippines does not want a reputation for being a place where property rights are not respected." Last month the Philippines' highest court upheld the proclamation, which split Boracay into agricultural land, which can be owned by private interests, and protected forest, which cannot. Many of the island's resorts and developments fall within areas classified as forest. Even on land zoned as agricultural, the occupants must reapply to purchase it. "We are coming to Hong Kong to try to reassure investors that we will keep trying to protect their rights," said Mr Arseno. He said investment had slowed to a trickle. Yip faces having to pay for his land a second time as a result of the recent ruling. "It's a very strange rule," Yip said. "Of course no one has paid; no-one would be that silly. We've all banded together against it." The government claims its aim is to protect investors by formalising property rights which were previously informal and unenforceable. The storming of Sandcastles Resort provided a dramatic demonstration of the difficulties the government says it is trying to address. Mrs Hutchinson told the Sunday Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) that the invasion had its roots in a dispute with a well-connected former business partner over a sublease for the resort. "We have a 30-year lease on the land that runs to 2019," Mrs Hutchinson said. "We own the resort and these people have invaded it and tried to get us to leave it all behind." The thugs cut off electricity, gas and telephone services. Police had done nothing to chase off the men, believed to be working for the owner of the land, she said. "We really have to fight for our land; we need to show them that you can't just take whatever you want," Mrs Hutchinson said.