We all understand the principle of living and working in peace and contentment.
In the 1950s, a large number of refugees from the mainland fled to Hong Kong and began to build their own shacks in the mountains.
A fire caused so many deaths and injuries that the Hong Kong government had no choice but to set up resettlement areas, which were later converted into humble public housing.
In the 1970s, in order to further stabilize the social order, the then Governor MacLehose proposed to build one million public housing units to provide homes for more than half of the low-income people in Hong Kong.
At that time, a person could be "allocated a flat" in three years. This policy directly contributed to Hong Kong's golden decade, making Hong Kong one of the Four Little Dragons of Asia.
The SAR government gradually realized the importance of the stability of people's lives to the economic development of Hong Kong, and introduced a series of policies in the areas of housing, Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, education and medical care. Basically, the people of Hong Kong have no worries about food, clothing, housing and transportation, and can concentrate on economic development.
The hardworking and capable people of Hong Kong, together with the extremely advantageous geographical location and relatively favorable external environment, have created Hong Kong, now one of the world's economic and financial centers.
But after years of development, the transformation of the economic structure, the distribution of interests along with political changes and the rise of real estate hegemony, Hong Kong's previous housing policy is no longer applicable to the current Hong Kong.
It turns out that Hong Kong people can rent cheap public housing if they work for three to five years, and the rest of their savings can be used to make a down payment on a private home, so there is hope and hope for life.
At present, the waiting time for public housing in Hong Kong ranges from three to four years, five years to today's six years. There are about 300,000 people on the public housing waiting list in Hong Kong.
Usually, they have to wait for six years before they can have a chance to move into public housing. Young people who have just entered Hong Kong society have to wait for more than 10 years. Without public housing, they have to rent expensive private housing, and naturally, they have no money left over for a down payment on a private home.
If the housing problem is not solved, the consequences are unthinkable. This is also a major reason for Hong Kong's social unrest, brain drain and gradually weakening international competitiveness in recent years.
Excessive rents and property prices have scared off foreign talents who want to contribute to Hong Kong's development, while those who are working in Hong Kong are suffering from extremely high property prices and choosing to flee. The rising cost of living, coupled with the recent new crown pneumonia epidemic affecting Hong Kong's external exchanges, has created a negative atmosphere in Hong Kong society.
The SAR government has been unable to find an effective solution, resulting in an increasingly serious housing problem.
