Public housing group calls on Hong Kong government to subsidise young people in buying their first homes
- Proposal is one of 13 initiatives suggested by pro-establishment Federation of Public Housing Estates to boost housing supply for young people
- Federation says that though housing is source of anti-government grievances, proposal has nothing to do with current political unrest
The Hong Kong government should fork out HK$1.8 billion (US$230.1 million) a year to support the city’s youth in buying their first homes on the private market, a pro-establishment public housing concern alliance suggested on Wednesday.
The recommendation is one of 13 initiatives rolled out by the Federation of Public Housing Estates in light of a year-long study, which aims to enhance housing supply for people aged 18 to 35 in Hong Kong.
The federation said in its statement that one source of strong grievances held by youngsters protesting against the government in the past three months was the sheer shortage of affordable living space.
However, when asked how the housing problem was related to the protests triggered by a now-abandoned fugitive extradition bill, and whether more supply would help quell the unrest, the federation’s convenor Herman Larm Wai-leung said their research on housing for youth had nothing to do with current events.
“The housing problem faced by the city’s youngsters is part of a problem faced by the general public,” Larm said. “Our study started in the middle of 2018, when we could not possibly foresee what would happen today.”
