Hong Kong poor in cages shows dark side of property boom - GoFuckYourself.com

Heath · 02-07-2013, 09:41 AM

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/2102130...-property-boom

Quote:

KONG (AP) ? For many of the richest people in Hong Kong, one of Asia's wealthiest cities, home is a mansion with an expansive view from the heights of Victoria Peak. For some of the poorest, like Leung Cho-yin, home is a metal cage.

The 67-year-old former butcher pays 1,300 Hong Kong dollars ($167) a month for one of about a dozen wire mesh cages resembling rabbit hutches crammed into a dilapidated apartment in a gritty, working-class West Kowloon neighborhood.

The cages, stacked on top of each other, measure 1.5 square meters (16 square feet). To keep bedbugs away, Leung and his roommates put thin pads, bamboo mats, even old linoleum on their cages' wooden planks instead of mattresses.

"I've been bitten so much I'm used to it," said Leung, rolling up the sleeve of his oversized blue fleece jacket to reveal a red mark on his hand. "There's nothing you can do about it. I've got to live here. I've got to survive," he said as he let out a phlegmy cough.

Some 100,000 people in the former British colony live in what's known as inadequate housing, according to the Society for Community Organization, a social welfare group. The category also includes apartments subdivided into tiny cubicles or filled with coffin-sized wood and metal sleeping compartments as well as rooftop shacks. They're a grim counterpoint to the southern Chinese city's renowned material affluence.

Forced by skyrocketing housing prices to live in cramped, dirty and unsafe conditions, their plight also highlights one of the biggest headaches facing Hong Kong's unpopular Beijing-backed leader: growing public rage over the city's housing crisis.

Leung Chun-ying took office as Hong Kong's chief executive in July pledging to provide more affordable housing in a bid to cool the anger. Home prices rose 23 percent in the first 10 months of 2012 and have doubled since bottoming out in 2008 during the global financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund said in a report last month. Rents have followed a similar trajectory.

The soaring costs are putting decent homes out of reach of a large portion of the population while stoking resentment of the government, which controls all land for development, and a coterie of wealthy property developers. Housing costs have been fuelled by easy credit thanks to ultralow interest rates that policymakers can't raise because the currency is pegged to the dollar. Money flooding in from mainland Chinese and foreign investors looking for higher returns has exacerbated the rise.

In his inaugural policy speech in January, the chief executive said the inability of the middle class to buy homes posed a threat to social stability and promised to make it a priority to tackle the housing shortage.

"Many families have to move into smaller or older flats, or even factory buildings," he said. "Cramped living space in cage homes, cubicle apartments and sub-divided flats has become the reluctant choice for tens of thousands of Hong Kong people," he said, as he unveiled plans to boost supply of public housing in the medium term from its current level of 15,000 apartments a year.

Some images I found when searching for more details.

brassmonkey · 02-07-2013, 09:44 AM

thats old newz saw this some years back

_Richard_ · 02-07-2013, 09:49 AM

i have seen these pics before

brassmonkey · 02-07-2013, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _Richard_

i have seen these pics before

http://www.weirdasianews.com/2009/11...ges-literally/

http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/thread-729663-1-1.html

its been passing around for almost 5 years now. I saw yesterday that china is going to increase wages for the poor.

Sarah_Jayne · 02-07-2013, 09:58 AM

I'll stop bitching about the size of the kitchen in my apartment.

Harmon · 02-07-2013, 10:07 AM

It beats living outside under the elements.

Rochard · 02-07-2013, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah_Jayne

I'll stop bitching about the size of the kitchen in my apartment.

Yet here in the US we bitch and bitch and we honestly have no idea how good we have it.

Dirty F · 02-07-2013, 10:14 AM

Retarded shithole country.

media · 02-07-2013, 10:16 AM

At least he's got a good size window next to his open air living space.. Also, at least he's got a roof over his head.. In the Philippines entire families sleep on cardboard boxes on the sidewalk and dig through 4 ft tall piles of trash that are brought from Makati to the poor areas.. the people in the US in poverty are wealthy compared to the poverty of some nations..

Scott McD · 02-07-2013, 10:36 AM

Yeah those pics are pretty old. Still doesn't make it any better though.

Another place i will never visit...

DWB · 02-07-2013, 11:59 AM

If they had free wifi and tablets they could be GFY contest whores.

shake · 02-07-2013, 12:04 PM

Wow... my servers have nicer cages than that

JFK · 02-07-2013, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah_Jayne

I'll stop bitching about the size of the kitchen in my apartment.

Thanks, it's becoming monotonous

02-07-2013, 09:44 AM	#2
brassmonkey Pay It Forward Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Yo Mama House Posts: 77,053	thats old newz saw this some years back __________________ TRUMP 2025 KEKAW!!! - The Laken Riley Act Is Law! DACA ENDED - SUPPORT AZ HCR 2060 52R - email: brassballz-at-techie.com

02-07-2013, 10:07 AM	#6
Harmon ( ͡ʘ╭͜ʖ╮͡ʘ) Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 20,005	It beats living outside under the elements. __________________ [email protected]

02-07-2013, 10:16 AM	#9
media Confirmed Moneymaker Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Eugene, OR It's Like Jail, Only with Trees! Posts: 9,851	At least he's got a good size window next to his open air living space.. Also, at least he's got a roof over his head.. In the Philippines entire families sleep on cardboard boxes on the sidewalk and dig through 4 ft tall piles of trash that are brought from Makati to the poor areas.. the people in the US in poverty are wealthy compared to the poverty of some nations.. __________________ I'm here for the violence!

02-07-2013, 10:36 AM	#10
Scott McD Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 67,795	Yeah those pics are pretty old. Still doesn't make it any better though. Another place i will never visit... __________________ I Buy My High Quality Traffic Here, You Should Too!

02-07-2013, 12:04 PM	#12
shake frc Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Bitcoin wallet Posts: 4,663	Wow... my servers have nicer cages than that __________________ Crazy fast VPS for $10 a month. Try with $20 free credit

02-07-2013, 09:49 AM	#3
_Richard_ Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vancouver Posts: 30,985	i have seen these pics before

02-07-2013, 09:58 AM	#5
Sarah_Jayne Now with more Jayne Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 40,077	I'll stop bitching about the size of the kitchen in my apartment.

02-07-2013, 10:14 AM	#8
Dirty F Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 59,204	Retarded shithole country.

02-07-2013, 11:59 AM	#11
DWB Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Encrypted. Access denied. Posts: 31,779	If they had free wifi and tablets they could be GFY contest whores.