Our Chief Executive has criticised 'some people' who put personal profit before the community. Is this fair? We all know that the extraordinary profits of the property companies and their controlling shareholders are based on the need and desire of ordinary people to own their own homes. People have been willing to borrow and pay large sums of money to achieve this ambition. Why blame the property magnates for this? It is true that housing completions in the private sector are lower than they were some years back.
Also, Tung Chee-hwa's target of 85,000 new homes per annum may not be easy to achieve, because the developers have become so used to extravagant profits, they do not wish to build enough to meet people's needs at lower prices.
But whose fault is that? Why should developers (whose stocks are very important on the Hang Seng Index) bear the burden of meeting society's needs? Surely by making profits they are enhancing the economic values that make Hong Kong special? Why does Mr Tung publicise this embarrassing distinction between personal profit and community benefit? NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED