My Take | Why we can’t solve Hong Kong’s housing crisis
- If Beijing’s electoral rollback is the stick while the push to resolve the housing problem – among other livelihood issues – is supposed to be the carrot, then most likely, Hong Kong people will end up with a heavy stick over their heads rather than a proper roof
There is now an orthodox view on the problem plaguing Hong Kong. If only the city can resolve its livelihood problems, chief among which is unaffordable housing, everything will be hunky-dory.
Since then, Beijing’s allies in Hong Kong have been nodding their heads in agreement. Property tycoon Gordon Wu Ying-sheung has declared: “If the city wants prosperity, we must handle livelihood problems seriously, especially housing concerns, or the government will fail to win people’s hearts and find the city hard to administer.”
This view is, of course, not new. What is different is that the central government is giving it a special push as it cracks down on the local opposition and anti-government movement. Think of it as the carrot and the stick for Hong Kong people.
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Tiny 290sq ft temporary housing a welcome upgrade for some low-income Hong Kong families
Unfortunately, it’s easy to deliver the stick; much more difficult to offer this particular carrot. It’s not like the local government hasn’t been trying for the better part of the last decade, with little to show for it.
