Today's SCMP Debate is the last in a weekly series as part of our build-up to the 15th anniversary, on July 1, of the establishment of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong. In our third instalment, we ask five long-time residents to look ahead another 15 years into the future of our city.
Q1 Imagine Hong Kong 15 years from now. What will have changed and what will remain the same?
Q2 What are the major challenges facing Hong Kong in the next 15 years?
Q3 Do you expect to be living in Hong Kong 15 years from now? What would influence your decision?
Ho Hei-wah Director of the Society for Community Organisation and a member of the preparatory task force for the Commission on Poverty
A1 I have a dream that, 15 years from now, all cage homes will have disappeared into the dustbin of history. No more reports about cage homes will be carried on the front pages of international media. Those living in cage homes and the 100,000 residents living in inadequate housing such as cocklofts, bed-space apartments, subdivided flats and rooftop huts will be housed with dignity and humanity. The waiting time for public housing will be shortened so that the housing needs of the poor can be solved in a short time.
I have a dream that no more old people will stretch out their hands begging for newspapers from the passengers near the turnstiles at MTR stations, no old people will have to kowtow for a coin from strangers, no old person will have to hang around on the streets or in an alley searching for cardboard to earn a living, and that all the elderly in Hong Kong will enjoy universal retirement protection through the Mandatory Provident Fund and no one will have to worry about his living after retirement.
