Embedded Files
Friends, it is not about politics, nor the bill, it is about livelihood. Couples still find it hard to afford a 300 sq ft flat after slaving away for 20 years, despite neither eating out much nor going for holidays. Graduates in 2017 made less in entry-level jobs than their predecessors did 25 years ago (inflation adjusted). And Hong Kong prides itself on being one of the wealthiest cities on earth, if not the wealthiest! What kind of a “world city” is Hong Kong?
When young people don’t see hope, they will do anything to vent their anger, they will be destructive, and any excuse will do.
By the way, people seem to focus only on recent events (2003, 2014, 2019), instead of paying heed to lessons from history. Let’s just consider the last 500 years: multiple riots and civil disobedience movements took place in Europe; the American revolutionary and civil wars were fought; closer to home, the May Fourth Movement was launched by courageous students at Peking University in 1919, and was followed by the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen incident.
Not one civilisation has advanced culturally, politically or economically without bloodshed – without students and idealists sacrificing their own lives and sometimes, unfortunately, the lives of others. This is the reality.
Back home, feel free to call this a stupid suggestion – but free up brownfield sites, accelerate reclamation, build 300,000 or so 600 sq ft flats and sell them to young, first-time buyers at HK$8,000 per sq ft. Do this and Hong Kong will never see kids taking to the streets again!
Philip S.K. Leung, Pok Fu Lam
Published: 7:30am, 8 Jul, 2019
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse