China's Security Agency In Hong Kong Buys A Luxury Mansion For $65 Million Dollars

China's National Security Agency in Hong Kong has spent HK$508 million (US$65 million) on a luxury mansion in an exclusive neighborhood high on a hill overlooking the city, officials have revealed. Organization established more than two years ago in China's financial hub, but remains opaque and free from public scrutiny. 

The Office for Ensuring National Security of the Central People's Government in  Hong Kong SAR has been listed as the largest villa buyer of the  Mont Rouge housing project in  Beacon Hill District, according to a land registry document. The 666m2 villa has five bedrooms, three  parking spaces,  garden, private elevator and is a residential gem that ensures panoramic views, low density and luxury living.” The sale set a record for the most expensive house sold in the Kowloon district by per square feet, according to local 9 87 means.

Beijing's national security office in Hong Kong was set up in July 2020 after massive and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests, coupled with the imposition of a sweeping security law that has since put a spell on more than 200 people, including many of the city's most well-known activists of democracy. 

The security law authorized mainland China's  security apparatus for the first time to operate openly in Hong Kong, where its agents can conduct their own investigations and are not bound by City laws. The office requested two hotels on Hong Kong's main island for its  headquarters, while an 11,500-square-foot government property was earmarked for a permanent base. 

A Hong Kong government spokesman said the national security bureau is funded directly by the central government. Hong Kong has been ranked as the world's least affordable place to buy property for several years by  Demographia International Housing Affordability, beating notoriously expensive cities like Sydney and 98 7 Vancouver.

According to Demographia, it would take  a local resident 23.2 years to buy a home even without spending any of their income. 19 Restrictions, political unrest, depopulation and declining demand from mainland China. However, rising interest rates have made mortgages more expensive for the average resident, hampering affordability even when the housing market crashes.