HONG KONG -- A developer who owns Bruce Lee's old home in Hong Kong lobbied the government Thursday to help turn the property into a museum honoring the late martial arts action star.

Yu Pang-lin met Thursday with Hong Kong's commerce and economic development secretary about his plans for the two-story house, currently used as an hourly love motel.

The 86-year-old developer-turned-philanthropist had put the property on sale to raise money for victims of the recent earthquake in China's central Sichuan province but changed his mind after Bruce Lee fans expressed fear that the building might be demolished.

Yu is willing to donate the property, where Lee lived from 1972 to 1973, but wants the Hong Kong government to set up a trust that will hold the property and lead efforts to plan and raise funds for the museum, said Michael Tien, a politician who attended Thursday's meeting.

Michael Choi, chairman of the property consultant company that was handling the sale of the property for Yu, said $13 million had been offered for the house and land.

Yu said he is a fan of Lee, who became a nationalist hero after he portrayed characters that defended the Chinese and the working class from oppressors.

"He did many things for Chinese people," Lee said.

The press secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Frederick Ma didn't immediately return calls about Yu's proposal.

Lee, who died in Hong Kong in 1973 at age 32 from swelling of the brain, was born in San Francisco but grew up in Hong Kong. He attended the University of Washington and taught martial arts in Seattle, where he is buried in Lake View Cemetery next to his son, actor Brandon Lee.

His credits include "The Chinese Connection," ''Enter the Dragon" and "Return of the Dragon."