Big property developers were once idolised. Now they have a serious image problem.
Two out of three people interviewed in a poll conducted by Chinese University researchers thought developers cared only about making money and nothing about social responsibility.
Conducted by the university's Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, the survey of 832 people aged over 18 also found that up to 85 per cent of respondents were familiar with the concept of 'property hegemony', which refers to the alleged dominance of developers over local politics and the economy.
Seventy-eight per cent believed such dominance existed in Hong Kong, despite Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen claiming, in an interview with the South China Morning Post in May, for example, that there was no such thing.
But one in two people said the government could still control the supply of land and housing, thereby restraining the developers' power and influence.
Shum Kwok-cheung, the institute's project officer, said the poll indicated that people were rational and recognised that the government could play a bigger role in shaking up the perceived 'hegemony'.
'Some might think the government favours the developers. So it must be seen by the public that officials are not scared of the developers and that they have the ability and means to get things right,' Shum said.