My Take | PLA land offers range of sites for housing
If the Beijing and Hong Kong governments could agree on the release of vast areas for homes, the flats crisis would be eased and everyone would benefit
Beijing-friendly politicians often complain that the central government unfairly gets the blame for Hong Kong’s domestic problems. One of our biggest problems is surely housing.
So let’s think from a reverse perspective: what if the central government actively helps address one of Hong Kong’s problems, say housing, without being accused of interfering in local affairs?
That, I gather, is what James Tien Pei-chun, honorary chairman of the Liberal Party, is suggesting when he proposes the People’s Liberation Army stationed in Hong Kong should consider giving up a massive but “underused” military site to help address the city’s housing woes.
The idea is nothing new, but it has been something of a taboo topic among officials and pro-government politicians. Even some pan-democrats seem to avoid this subject, having bought into the argument that defence and foreign policy relating to the city are still Beijing’s prerogatives.
But I can think of nothing more Chinese than a benevolent father providing housing to his children in need.