Why Hong Kong’s angry and disillusioned youth are making their voices heard
As residential property prices continue to rise in what is already one of the most expensive cities in the world, Hong Kong’s youth find themselves priced out of ever owning their own homes and raging against more than the proposed extradition bill
Over the past decade, Hong Kong’s residential property prices have skyrocketed by 242 per cent, and for the ninth year in a row, the city’s property market has been rated the world’s most unaffordable.
With figures like these, it is clear that young Hongkongers’ anger will not be easily dispelled.
“It’s the system’s problem […] they don’t need a vote to be the government, there is no democracy,” he says.
RUBY LEUNG, 22. A law student who lives with her mother and domestic helper in Kowloon, Leung is pictured in her 75 sq ft bedroom. “They promised to have ‘one country, two systems’ for 50 years, so people panic about what will happen in 50 years. Will they continue this, or will they just assimilate us into China, like a district of Shenzhen? That’s very scary,” Leung says.
“There was a hope that we could get universal suffrage. But then the situation got worse. Not only do we not have universal suffrage, but the Chinese government is even more influential in politics.”
WILLIAM LUN, 22. The aspiring lawyer – pictured in his 70 sq ft room – shares a flat with his father and brother in Sha Tin. “It’s everybody’s dream to get a house. It is the Chinese mentality. It marks a stage in your life when you finally get settled. I want to buy a house but it’s mission impossible,” Lun says.
“Hong Kong should have its own identity along with its Chinese identity. Hong Kong is special. I’ve cried over the [course of the protests], many times. Seeing what’s been happening, my friends getting shot, tear-gassed.
“It’s sad to see the government being indifferent. They seem to be not listening to the youngsters, they seem to be not caring. Two million came out and they are saying: ‘Oh, we hear you. But we are still going to press on.’”
EUNICE WAI, 30. The primary school teacher, who lives with her parents and brother John (see below) in Prince Edward, is pictured in her 80 sq ft bedroom. Explaining how Hong Kong people feel stifled by Beijing, Wai says, “They control people more and give us less freedom.”
But, she adds, other problems are making life increasingly difficult, in particular what she says is an unfair housing policy that only makes the rich richer. “We have so little room in Hong Kong and people find it hard to buy a flat. The property companies control the market.”
JOHN WAI, 26. The engineer, pictured in his 75 sq ft bedroom, shares a flat in Prince Edward with his parents and sister Eunice. “What makes me angry is that the government allows mainland people to buy those very limited resources of land. The property agencies drive the prices so high that we cannot afford them,” Wai says.
Two years into his career after graduating from a top Hong Kong university, he puts money aside, gives some to his parents and pays his student loan, which doesn’t leave him with enough to get his own flat. “I’m considering emigrating. To Singapore or Thailand. The reason is that I’m disappointed about the future of Hong Kong. I can see the Chinese government further suspending our rights.”
ZALEENA HO, 22. The film studies graduate lives with her parents in Mei Foo and is pictured here in her 75 sq ft bedroom. “It’s getting worse politically. Most of us are trying our best to maintain what we’ve earned,” Ho says. “I have a US passport. I can just leave but I have hope that we can change something. If things turn really bad, I’ll run away. But we are still here fighting.”
MAISY MOK, 22. Pictured in her 97 sq ft bedroom, Mok, who is studying international journalism, lives in Fo Tan with her father. He sleeps on a sofa as the flat is too small to fit another bed. Her parents are divorced. “I feel bad that my dad has to sleep on the couch because everybody deserves their own privacy,” Mok says.
“Those of us who were born around the 1997 handover, we know we are Hong Kong people. We don’t have the sense that we are Chinese citizens until we get to secondary school. We have our own unique language. It’s harder for us to transition because we have this thought that we are Hongkongers, this identity, we hold it very strongly. I feel I could never let go of freedom of speech. I feel like the judiciary system in Hong Kong is pretty good. And I love political satire. These are the things that got me into journalism and politics.
“If these were taken away, even with the money and benefits that the mainland can bring, or bigger housing, I wouldn’t feel happy about it. Sometimes it feels like you are trapped. So for us, who are used to this kind of freedom, we might not get used to it.”
RUKA TONG, 21. Tong, a student, shares her 118 sq ft room with her two sisters. Their parents live in the same Tai Wo Hau flat. Until last year, the family of five lived in a 300 sq ft room. “You see me always at work to earn more money to buy a flat. I work seven days a week in five jobs. One office job and four jobs giving tutorial classes. Just two to three hours’ resting time. I need to earn more money to save for academia and for my family,” Tong says.
“There are so many pressures in Hong Kong, price pressure, academic pressure. I don’t want the future generation to face this problem.”
ROY LAM, 23. Lam, seen here in his 75 sq ft bedroom, works in human resources and lives with his mother and four sisters in Yau Ma Tei. “We’d rather lose standing up than lose sitting down,” Lam says. He believes young people are determined to stand up for what they deserve but says it is hard to stay positive. “We do sometimes think: ‘Let’s just give up. Let’s just move to some place else.’”
SONIC LEE, 29. The musician and composer, pictured in his 64 sq ft bedroom, shares a Diamond Hill flat with his mother. Lee says, “For me, the ‘umbrella revolution’ is like telling a story, it’s Marvel. But it’s not going to happen in Hong Kong. There are no superheroes. Nothing will happen in one big movement. I don’t believe it any more. If anything will change in Hong Kong it will be many small people doing many small things and you add them together.
“Yes, I’m afraid [there will be] books I cannot read or works we cannot write or songs we cannot sing. At the same time, it makes art and music more powerful. Especially rock ’n’ roll. If I use music to talk about what is happening and what we need to fight for, then music will become important in this city.”
MICHAEL HO, 24. A graduate in government and international studies at Baptist University, Ho lives with his parents in Heng Fa Chuen. When Ho’s sister left home, he removed the wall separating her room from his and now has a double room measuring 118 sq ft.
He says the protests are about the unjust circumstances that prevent young people from living their dreams. “It’s just hopeless for young people to grow, to develop their careers, because of the pricing problem.”
Interviews: Reuters
