Why does the
Post print so many
articles suggesting that Hong Kong’s
housing issues are the real cause of the ongoing protests? This is nowhere among the protesters’ demands. Neither are wages or living costs. The protesters’
five demands are exclusively political.
In basic psychology, if a person repeatedly demands something specific, and the other party repeatedly says, what you really want is this other thing, the person with the demands feels that she is not being listened to and feels disrespected, frustrated and condescended to.
Could there be some reason the elites do not want to consider that perhaps guaranteed
political rights of some meaningful form are connected to life satisfaction?
The Post and the government could both reflect. Taking demands at face value is a constructive starting point for resolving any conflict. It builds trust and respect. Furthermore, sometimes people do really want what they say they want.
Tao Stein, Tai Po
Use Kai Tak plot for public housing instead
I do not agree with the Hong Kong government’s bid to sell a plot of commercial land on the runway of the former international airport for the development of a hotel, offices and shopping centre. Crippling social unrest has engulfed Hong Kong, devastating
tourist numbers and tarnishing the city’s reputation. As investors grow sceptical, bids for the Kai Tak commercial plot were low, and rejected by the government. So, I recommend that the government change the land use.
Instead, build public housing on the Kai Tak land. The housing shortage is getting increasingly serious. Rents take up
most of the incomes of many Hongkongers, making it difficult to support other living expenses. The government has failed to solve this problem. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s
Lantau Tomorrow Vision involves extensive reclamation and will take several years to realise. There is no denying also that it will need huge public funds and will affect the marine ecology. It will also put pressure on the environment of Lantau Island as it urbanises.
Building public housing on existing land should be feasible for the government and the costs will be lower than HK$624 billion (US$80 billion) projected for Lam’s Lantau vision.
Natalie Wang, Kwai Chung
