Develop some Hong Kong country parks into public flats
- To improve people’s living conditions, the law protecting country parks needs an overhaul, while the maximum queuing time for public housing needs to be set by law to halve the current unacceptable average time of six years
If this means an updated expansion of the social safety net for all Hongkongers and a campaign to reduce drastic social and economic inequalities as well as restoring social cohesiveness, it’s an absolute must for the government.
But there is a signature policy set by MacLehose that has outlived its usefulness and needs an overhaul: the Country Parks Ordinance. The law has made such parks and other areas virtually untouchable, despite enormous pressure on the government to boost land supply.
The government’s policy should no longer be to boost home ownership, but quality living conditions. Opening some country park areas for public housing development should therefore be allowed. A minority of hard-core green activists would object on principle. However, most critics oppose because of fear that it would be open to private development and therefore become another bonanza for local developers.
Young Hongkongers in public housing less happy than peers in private flats
This legitimate concern can be addressed by writing into the law to ban any private development in place of public or subsidised housing. In Hong Kong, only 25 per cent of total land area is developed. Country parks take up about 40 per cent, while reservoirs and green belts take up most of the rest.
Environmental concerns can be addressed. Country parks, designated for recreation and enjoyment for the public, are legally better protected than conservation zones and green belts, needed for scientific and ecological preservation. But not all green belts are equal; some deserve better protection while others may be open for both private and public development.
It is not necessary to open all country parks for development, but we can scale back some of their land. Currently, 70 per cent of Lantau is occupied by country parks, compared with 38 per cent on Hong Kong Island, 37 per cent in the New Territories and 3 per cent in Kowloon.
Lantau may be developed more extensively while country parks in Kowloon should remain intact.
Meanwhile, there must be a parallel legislation to set a maximum waiting time for public housing. The current average time of six years is unacceptable and inhumane, leading to caged homes and partitioned flats. This needs to be reduced by half, at the very least.
