'This city is dying, you know.' Thus goes a popular quote from a Cantonese TV soap opera. And the sensational condemnation seems to resonate with the public after the fire in shopping booths in Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, in the early hours of November 30, that caused nine deaths and 34 injuries in nearby buildings full of subdivided units.
The government's post-disaster relief and enforcement actions were swift, but these cannot substitute for a policy rethink. Less than two years ago, on January 29, 2010, the collapse of a five-storey block in To Kwa Wan, again with subdivided flats, shocked many and damaged Hong Kong's world-city image.
No doubt the regulation and inspection of old buildings have been intensified since the To Kwa Wan disaster. However, the overcrowded and dilapidated living conditions that persist in old apartments - with caged beds and sub- divided units occupied by the urban poor, elderly single people and new migrant families - point to a more deep-seated and multifaceted urban poverty crisis, the handling of which cannot be left to just the Buildings Department. It goes beyond building and fire safety, or the management of street booths.
A whole-government approach is called for to rid our city of a social anomaly - not just an eyesore - which does not square with its reputation as one of the most affluent cities in the region. The grass roots are finding it hard to cope with life and even members of the middle class have become more discontented. Commentators and social agitators are too keen to harp on the 'dying city' sentiments.
In January, Newsweek posted on its website a list of 'America's dying cities', those with bleak futures that have struggled over the past decade, losing both population and industry. Hong Kong is not in that league.
The city's governance - government effectiveness, regulatory quality, municipal management, rule of law and very low level of corruption - is highly rated internationally. The government's financial reserves stood at HK$590billion last quarter, while the total asset value of foreign exchange reserves reached US$285.5billion last month. Hong Kong continues to benefit from China's expanding economy, as its global financial centre and premier offshore renminbi centre.
Economic growth is forecast at 5per cent for this year and unemployment is low, at 3.3per cent. These are almost impeccable performance indicators of a booming city, envied by many developed economies.