The Great Achievement Of Home Ownership?

It is said that the ramification of social housing system in Hong Kong is a huge success.In this miracle,the hero is British Hong Kong Government who established the public housing system.In fact,since 1950s,the government's intervention had its own political and economic purpose,and the improvement of housing situation was by no means an achievement.This article is divided into three parts.In the first part,I discuss the reasons why the British Hong Kong Government's attitude towards housing issues has shifted from 1954 to 1972.It held an indifferent attitude at first but then changed to forced intervention.One of the most important factors accounting for the transition was not social relief but economic benefit.After World War II,a large number of people arrived in Hong Kong and led a serious housing problem.More and more low-income people occupied the valuable crown lands,and few lands left for the government to auction.Owing to the sweeping fire in Shek Kip Mei on the Christmas Eve in 1953,the government resettled residents by building low-quality resettlement buildings and relocated them to the suburbs.Actually,these poor people'quality of life did not improved."Low Cost Housing Scheme" helped some lucky middle class live a decent life,but some middle class paid high rents.However,the government retook the urban lands and sold them to real estate developers at high prices.Therefore,the government not only increased its revenue,but also shaped a responsible government image successfully.The following part examines the political reasons of public housing system reform from 1972 to 1987.The British Government began to consider the future of Hong Kong and negotiations with the Chinese Government.In order to bargain with the Chinese Government effectively in the Sino-British talk on the Hong Kong issue,British Hong Kong Government has taken the initiative to intervene in the livelihood issues.The intervention not only made Hong Kong more modern,but also improved people's loyalty to the government.With the booming property market,scarce urban land supply in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon and the growing population,the government made a huge plan to develop the New Territories.But the unreasonable land resumption arrangements which ignored the the living conditions,traditional customs and architectures,caused dissatisfaction among the aborigines.The development strategy of the developers closely followed the plan of the government.With plenty of money,the developers owned a lot of valuable lands.In addition,the government placed tremendous number of low-income people in New Towns,far from the urban areas,where the infrastructure was very poor.As a result,New Town became a places for low-income people and poor middle class."The Home Ownership Scheme" has appeased some of the middle-class and contributed to land appreciation in the meanwhile.In the subsequent part,I consider economic factor is the dominant one that affecting the formulation of social housing policy from 1987 to the eve of the return.The annexes of the Sino-British Joint Declaration limited the amount of land that British Hong Kong Government could auction.Simultaneously,the profits should be evenly divided with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in the future.As a result,British Hong Kong Government turned its attention to public housing issue.On the one hand,British Hong Kong Government reorganized the Housing Authority,introduced The Long Term Housing Strategy(1987-2001),and shifted the focus from rent to own.On the other hand,the government spread constantly the plight of low-income people who were on the Waiting List but reduced the number of rental flats for Waiting List stealthily,and labeled some poor people who were slightly improved in economy "rich households".This label led to the hatred of those on the Waiting List.The government consciously ignored the public housing tenants' contributions to the stability and the development of Hong Kong.Moreover,"Home Purchase Loan Scheme"failed to help middle class due to the limited loan amount and quota.Also,it stimulated the property market,promoting the rise of property prices,and increasing the income of the government and real estate developers consequentlyThe intervention of British Hong Kong Government in social housing problems was not simply based on social security.Some of the unreasonable public housing policies did not solve the problem of poverty.Instead,it was the real reason of poverty in Hong Kong.Under the name of development,the government has been partial to the property developers.The absence of Competition Law even made things worse.They maintained a mutually beneficial relationship,which helped them reach a'win-win"situation in the property market.Under this circumstance,they constructed the stereotype of pricey lands in Hong Kong.Nevertheless,the living standards of ordinary citizens who were forced to buy houses declined greatly.From the perspective of property,the social wealth gradually gathered on those who owned real estates,and people who have no real estate are gradually marginalized by society.The lack of housing caused poverty among the general public.Hong Kong's miracle of solving the public housing problems exists in name not in deed.