Opinion | Three ways to tackle youth poverty in Hong Kong that go beyond fixing the housing crisis

Name: Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?
Uploaded: 2021-11-16T01:15:22.000Z
Duration: 10 min 8 s
Description: Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?

The government should diversify the economy to create better jobs with decent pay. Remote areas need to be developed and schemes implemented to match youth with jobs in their neighbourhood

And broader worries afflicting impoverished youth should be addressed, including mental health and discrimination

Reading Time:4 minutes

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Young people take part in a “sleep with you” protest at Tamar Park, Admiralty, urging government action to tackle housing, poverty and homelessness in Hong Kong, on July 5, 2020. Photo: Felix Wong

Brian Y. S. Wong

Published: 9:15am, 16 Nov 2021Updated: 9:42am, 16 Nov 2021

Recently published government figures have revealed that 23.6 per cent of Hongkongers, or 1.65 million people, were living in poverty last year. After government intervention measures were taken into account, this declined to “just” 7.9 per cent – an improvement, albeit marginal, over 2019.

But zero-in on those aged 18-29 and it is clear that prospects for the city’s young people have not improved. Youth pre-intervention poverty rates have risen from 11.9 per cent in 2015 to 15.6 per cent last year; even the post-intervention rate climbed, from 4.6 per cent to 4.8 per cent.

Youth poverty is serious. It not only renders life miserable for those seeking a better future, it also means the city is missing out on the potential of rich talent, ideas and human capital.

Much has been written already about the need to fix the housing crisis, not least because of the despairingly long queues for public housing and the exorbitant cost of private housing that most fresh graduates are unable to afford. However, we need to look beyond this.

The housing problem needs to be fixed, of course, but this won’t be enough to improve the plight of working-class and impoverished youth. Decent, dignified housing is not a panacea; it is a long-overdue basic entitlement.

10:08

Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?

There are three key areas where urgent reform is needed for youth poverty to be tackled structurally. While it may be impossible to eliminate disparities in a capitalist economy, we should ensure that no young person lives in abject poverty or destitution.

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