The ViewHong Kong needs to think out of the box on rents

Irony and cynicism are not primary elements in Cantonese humour, but they seem to have been lost entirely in recent weeks by Cheung Kong (Holdings).

Tiny flats in its Mont Vert residential development in Tai Po measure just 177 square feet - barely double the size of an 80 sqft cell in Stanley Prison.

While micro flats aren't new to Hong Kong, Cheung Kong's versions arrived at a politically charged moment and represent a cruel metaphor for the property problems that beset the city.

And here is the punchline - there's a good chance of a higher standard of living as an inmate at Stanley Prison than as a resident in a tiny flat, according to one of my ex-convict friends who says incarceration is easier than struggling to make a living outside.

Inmates enjoy, at government expense, three decent meals each day, excellent medical care and access to an array of support services from charity organisations.

So distorted has our economy become from runaway property prices that these Hong Kong stories deserve their own tragic chapter in the bestselling series, Freakonomics.