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Tony Cheung

"It was shocking to me - a small flat to live in does have a negative effect on a person's dignity."
That was Our Hong Kong Foundation head Tung Chee-hwa's response when a woman told him she planned to buy a 170 sq ft home for more than HK$3 million for her family of three.
Tung, who was Hong Kong's first chief executive for eight years after the 1997 handover, yesterday spoke of his encounter with the woman last month when he was strolling on The Peak.
"I think people in Hong Kong are facing a difficult choice," he said. "Should we make sacrifices to have a more decent life?"
The foundation has proposed increasing land supply through five means: land reclamation outside the protected Victoria Harbour; turning over land from government and institutional use for homes; building new towns; removing red tape in town planning and development; and "thinking rationally and making wise decisions" about country parks and green belts.
Foundation researcher William Tsang Wai-him yesterday stopped short of saying homes should be built in green areas.
But he said only 8 per cent of Singapore and 38 per cent of London were green zones. "Do we really need as much as 67 per cent of our land to be green areas?" he asked. "Should we discuss pragmatically, flexibly and rationally, releasing a low [proportion] of those lands for development?"
In its written report, the foundation suggested the government could set up a platform "to review the ecological value and purpose of all country parks based on scientific standards".

Tsang added that Hong Kong's population could expand to 8.22 million in the next three decades, so the government would need more than 9,000 hectares of land, or three times the size of Sha Tin new town.
The foundation's report found that 8,900 hectares of land were developed in the last two decades, with 88 per cent, or 7,800 hectares, built from 1995 to 2004. It said land development had since slowed due to reasons like Town Planning Board objections and legal challenges filed to development proposals.
Raymond Chan Yuk-ming, former president of the Institute of Surveyors, told the Post the foundation's five-pronged plan was similar to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's land policy.
"Whether it could be done would depend on the green groups and the Town Planning Board," Chan said.


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Property policies

HK$3m for a 170 sq ft flat? Ex-chief executive proposes release of more land to ease Hong Kong's 'shocking' housing crunch

Hong Kong's population could expand to 8.22 million in the next three decades, requiring more than 9,000 hectares of land to accommodate the growth. Photo: AFP

Residential towers are seen in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong. Photo: AFP

Our Hong Kong Foundation head Tung Chee-hwa.

Our Hong Kong Foundation head Tung Chee-hwa. Photo: Sam Tsang

80pc of Hong Kong households can own homes with fixed land premiums for subsidised housing, urges former CE's think tank

Public housing Kai Ching Estate in Kai Tak. 16DEC14

The Our Hong Kong Foundation says those living in subsidised housing should be allowed to pay a land premium to the government that does not fluctuate with the market. Photo: Dickson Lee

Tung Chee-hwa, Founder of Our Hong Kong Foundation and former chief executive. Photo: Nora Tam

High rent, low salaries: how young Hongkongers are scheming to secure subsidised housing

Wong Yik-mo is one of many residents whose income is too high to qualify for subsidised housing, but too low to afford renting in the open market. He lives with his parents. Photo: May Tse

Groups stage a lie-in protest against the Housing Authority's plans to tighten up on public housing for singles under 35. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Hong Kong haunted houses: online map of who died where is boon for the curious, the ghoulish and bargain hunters alike

Tenants and buyers can negotiate big discounts on flats where an unnatural death has occurred.

Tenants and buyers can negotiate big discounts on flats where an unnatural death has occurred 

Spacious.HK's map uses ghost symbols to show buildings where an unnatural death has occurred. If you hover your mouse over a symbol, a pop-up window describes the death.

The Spacious.HK map shows how many "haunted houses" there are in Hong Kong.

The Spacious.HK map doesn't generally tell you in which unit of a building an unnatural death occurred - mainly for legal reasons.

You can zoom in and out on the map.

Police take away evidence from a building in Tai Kok Tsui where an elderly couple were decaptitated and their bodies chopped up. One of their sons and another man were later convicted in connection with the killings.

Asif Ghafoor. 

Hong's Kong's lack of affordable housing fuels 'McSleeper' trend, where the homeless sleep at McDonald's

McDonald's in Hong Kong is no longer just a restaurant for people to munch a burger, it has become a shelter for McRefugees to crash out. Photo: AP

Huge demand from single people prompts Hong Kong Housing Authority to review subsidised home sales scheme