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Hong Kong housing
OpinionLetters

Letters | Hong Kong housing crisis: no use blaming imaginary class enemies

  • Abolishing private property rights, as suggested by a trade unionist, won’t help, but releasing farmland for housing development just might

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The Wings residential complex in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, on July 21, 2018. Evidence shows that both the private and public sectors have worked hard to try and fulfil Hong Kong’s demand for housing. Photo: Bloomberg
Letters

In a recent commentary in a Chinese-language newspaper, Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions president Ng Chau-pei quoted Karl Marx’s Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 and suggested that the abolition of private property rights will bring an end to the discontent in Hong Kong.

It is not a surprise to see labour unionists pay tribute to their ideological forebear. But it is disconcerting to see a political heavyweight such as Ng hint at such a drastic swerve for the city.

This is especially since Articles 5 and 6 of the Basic Law state not only that Hong Kong’s capitalist system and way of life before the handover would remain until 2047, but that the government has a duty to protect the right to private ownership of property.

Census department data shows that both the private and public sectors have worked hard to try and meet Hong Kong’s demand for housing. Since 1997, Hong Kong’s population has grown by 15 per cent, yet its housing stock has increased by more than 40 per cent.

04:11

Tiny 290sq ft temporary housing a welcome upgrade for some low-income Hong Kong families

Tiny 290sq ft temporary housing a welcome upgrade for some low-income Hong Kong families
Despite these efforts, from 2023, we will see a severe drop in housing supply, according to research by Our Hong Kong Foundation. One way to address the housing shortage in Hong Kong is to unleash the potential of idle and underused sites whose development is often bogged down by red tape and outdated rules.
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