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Hong Kong housing
OpinionComment

Hong Kong’s housing crisis can’t be solved by democratic consensus

Lau Ping Cheung says public objection alone is not a good reason to reject reclamation and other contentious ideas if they have merit, while private developers must also play their part to ease the land shortage

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Lau Ping Cheung says public objection alone is not a good reason to reject reclamation and other contentious ideas if they have merit, while private developers must also play their part to ease the land shortage
Lau Ping Cheung
Adopting a pragmatic, scientific approach is just as important as forging a public consensus. Illustration: Craig Stephens
Adopting a pragmatic, scientific approach is just as important as forging a public consensus. Illustration: Craig Stephens
Hong Kong needs land for housing. Given that 76 per cent of the city’s 1,106 sq km territory is still undeveloped, we do not lack land for development per se. What we do lack is a consensus on where the land should come from.

Based on the government’s “Hong Kong 2030 Plus” development strategy, the city needs 4,800 hectares of land to meet its housing and development needs, but can find only 3,600 hectares, leaving a shortfall of 1,200 hectares.

At its first meeting recently, the 30-member task force set up by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to find developable land listed 12 viable options for study. These include developing the land on the fringes of protected country parks; reclamation outside Victoria Harbour, particularly the sea off Lantau Island; speeding up the development of comprehensive development areas; and the relocation of the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals, or building housing above the terminals. Public consultations will follow once the panel has completed its study.

It’s obvious that reclamation outside Victoria Harbour and the development of some peripheral areas of country parks – the two options the chief executive has put weight on – will be highly contentious.

Hong Kong people can find solutions for the mess they created in housing and wealth gap

A cracked bust representing US president Donald Trump was used as a backdrop for a presentation of a fashion show during Madrid Fashion Week on September 16. The election of Trump, an apparent racist, misogynist, xenophobe and climate change denier, is a good example of the inadequacies of Western democracy. Photo: AFP
A cracked bust representing US president Donald Trump was used as a backdrop for a presentation of a fashion show during Madrid Fashion Week on September 16. The election of Trump, an apparent racist, misogynist, xenophobe and climate change denier, is a good example of the inadequacies of Western democracy. Photo: AFP
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