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LettersHong Kong’s twisted priorities evident in Kai Tak private housing proposal
- The government’s pledge to support the real economy will ring hollow if commercial land is turned into pricey flats to keep the property market booming
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Non-performing commercial activities in Hong Kong have turned commercial land into poison for the administration. Therefore, it is now proposing to rezone five commercial plots in Kai Tak for private housing (“Rezoning at Kai Tak will lose offices”, March 3).
This is a weird scenario. People are unable to generate income from production on commercial property, and yet you see them bidding ferociously for private homes, which keeps the property market booming.
The government is proudly declaring that commercial land will be converted into private housing and its development arm, the Urban Renewal Authority, seems intent on converting all depleted buildings into modern residential units to raise the standard of living (“Latest Kowloon City renewable plans bring relief and worry”, March 6). In fact, they are preparing developers, in the guise of progress, to build unaffordable homes that a wide cross-section of the Hong Kong community will not be able to buy.
This is a weird scenario. People are unable to generate income from production on commercial property, and yet you see them bidding ferociously for private homes, which keeps the property market booming.
The government is proudly declaring that commercial land will be converted into private housing and its development arm, the Urban Renewal Authority, seems intent on converting all depleted buildings into modern residential units to raise the standard of living (“Latest Kowloon City renewable plans bring relief and worry”, March 6). In fact, they are preparing developers, in the guise of progress, to build unaffordable homes that a wide cross-section of the Hong Kong community will not be able to buy.
Our harbour was once busy with barges plying containers with export commodities. Now they are not to be seen at all. Instead, at any time of the day, you will see on the harbour barges moving construction and reclamation material to support the construction boom. Even farmland in the New Territories is being converted into ultra-luxury projects (“Evergrande pays HK$4.2b to convert farmland”, March 4).
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Such dynamic developments around the city give the government the impression that the crazy rich people of Hong Kong do not need financial support or relief, even as European countries and the United States are handing out subsidies to help their citizens fight the effects of the pandemic.
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Nalini Daswani, Tsim Sha Tsui
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