Government should heed Hongkongers' wish to review small house policy - now
Yan-yan Yip says with most people in Hong Kong supporting a review of the four-decade-old small house policy, why is the government stalling?
The small house policy was first enacted in 1972 as a temporary measure to address the housing needs of the indigenous villagers in the New Territories. It allows male indigenous villagers to apply to build a small house within their village once in their lifetime. The policy has long been criticised as unsustainable and outdated - open to abuse, corruption, speculative development, environmental damage and is a form of discrimination against women. However, it has been in place for more than four decades.
The Hong Kong government said it would initiate a review in 2002, but so far nothing has happened. In a recent reply declining an invitation to a radio show to discuss the policy, the Development Bureau once again stated that the government recognised the need to review the policy and the other land use-related issues. But when?
In a recent public opinion survey report released by Civic Exchange, close to 60 per cent of respondents said the government should review the policy immediately and another 20 per cent said it should do so before 2017. If we look specifically at the responses from male indigenous villagers (that is, the right holders), over 40 per cent of them said the government should immediately conduct a review.
In the same survey, almost two-thirds of the respondents "very strongly" or "strongly" supported changing the policy. It seems that people are ready for review and reform. When will our administration be ready?
Obviously, there are people in the community who advocate scrapping the policy, but a consensus on this move at this stage may be hard to reach.
However, this does not mean we should sit still and do nothing. The many issues involved are bubbling up. The government should, at the very least, consider taking the following action.