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Beyond limits

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Executive councillor and chairman of the Housing Authority's subsidised housing committee Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said recently that the 'structural problem' of mainland people buying Hong Kong properties needs to be solved, and called for a resumption of the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS).

Cheung also proposed that the government use some of its land sales revenue to finance a housing development fund to help local buyers and called on the administration to revamp existing policies to tackle Hong Kong's sky-high property prices and housing problems.

He said a suggestion that the government should consider banning non-locals from buying mass-market homes, restricting them to the luxury market, could be discussed but the issue was complicated.

As head of the subsidised housing committee, it's totally appropriate for Cheung to come up with ideas to assist local homebuyers. But any plan to restrict mainland people from buying properties in Hong Kong, without thorough research, would be beyond the limits of good sense.

Such a measure would be nigh-on impossible to implement because it would involve a substantial change in policy. It would also give the impression that we are discriminating against mainland people, fostering an unhealthy 'them and us' attitude by driving a wedge between us.

Hong Kong's property prices have surged considerably since last year and overall prices have passed the 1997 peak. Buying a modest home is now beyond the means of most Hongkongers.

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