Just Saying | Brave firemen’s deaths in industrial building blaze a consequence of Hong Kong’s failed housing policies

When I moved into the precious little pigeon hole that passes for my high-rise apartment in Hong Kong, the lack of space forced me to have it painstakingly redesigned in minimalist fashion.

It can get tricky when you’re aiming for a clutter-free look, with only 600 square feet of living space to fit more than two decades’ worth of existence in this city.

Did I say 600? More like 500, actually, because the purported extra 100 sq ft that I paid through my nose for was “gross floor area” calculated by taking into account the lift lobby, clubhouse and other common areas on my estate.

I’m seriously contemplating placing a camp cot out there by the lift when I have guests, to exercise my squatting rights. It may sound bizarre to the uninitiated outside this city but, hey, it’s Hong Kong.

When a grocery store tampers with its weighing scales to produce inflated readings and overcharge customers, it’s called cheating and people go to jail for it. When our tycoons do the same with multimillion-dollar property transactions, it’s allowed and defended as unfettered commerce.

Anyway, back to my flat and storage predicament. The original minimalist philosophy has been ruined by profligate stacking up of boxes full of stuff that I have no room for. So I was planning to follow the example of countless spatial refugees who are forced to rent cubicles in mini-storage facilities across the city.