https://www.scmp.com/rss/322849/feed Tony Tse Wai Chuen is the founder of the non-profit organisation Hong Kong Seek Road. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A recent report which showed as much as 142 hectares of land in Hong Kong that could be converted for temporary uses are left vacant, raising the question of whether the government is wasting land resources. While the organisation claimed that it has arrived at this number by compiling information released by the Lands Department and available land related documents of various departments, the accuracy of such data may be questionable. But at the same time, the lack of comprehensiveness and... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2109732/hong-kong-needs-comprehensive-database-better-land-usage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2109732/hong-kong-needs-comprehensive-database-better-land-usage?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Sep 2017 05:16:46 +0000 Tenderers often need to incur immense expenditures in the preparation to bid for consultancy service contracts requiring design and planning proposals. If the unsuccessful bidders are small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), they would find this highly onerous and a disincentive to participate at all. Although the government currently adopts a two-envelope system, that is, giving scores and taking into consideration technical proposal, experience, human resources, and the tender price, the... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2101999/good-intentions-dont-always-yield-positive-outcome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2101999/good-intentions-dont-always-yield-positive-outcome?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jul 2017 05:03:00 +0000 Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently reminded everyone in his blog that it is a criminal offence to split residential property purchases by using other people’s entitlements or to let others use one’s own first-time buyer entitlement, through private arrangements, to work around the new stamp duty policy of restricting multiple flat purchases by a single buyer. Once convicted, in addition to having to pay back the difference, one would also be subject to a fine of as much as 10... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2097106/hong-kong-should-jail-those-who-abuse-first-time-flat-buyer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2097106/hong-kong-should-jail-those-who-abuse-first-time-flat-buyer?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jun 2017 07:05:29 +0000 The housing shortage in Hong Kong is one of the government’s most pressing concerns. Chief executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s proposal for “starter homes”, in which she has floated the idea of public-private cooperation, is promising, and she has said it would be further discussed after she takes office. We certainly need more rungs on the “housing ladder”, and it is crucial that each rung caters to people in different income groups in Hong Kong. In fact, the government has pledged to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2093439/how-hong-kong-can-build-affordable-housing-developers-land?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2093439/how-hong-kong-can-build-affordable-housing-developers-land?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 May 2017 10:08:37 +0000 According to government statistics, there were around 1.13 million Hong Kong people aged 65 or above in 2015. By 2034, that elderly population is expected to rise to 2.28 million, and account for approximately 30 per cent of the then population. Undeniably, an ageing population is a severe social problem in Hong Kong. The government’s fundamental elderly care policy is “ageing in place as the core, institutional care as back-up”. Current elderly social service expenditure, however, seems to be... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1978135/elderly-must-be-offered-more-suitable-private-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1978135/elderly-must-be-offered-more-suitable-private-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jun 2016 12:37:19 +0000