Hong Kong’s Caged Population

Hong Kong. Known for our international trade, cultural diversity, thriving economy, and income inequality.

This is well seen when comparing the living conditions of the richest individuals and the poorest. The richest live in upwards of 6,000 square feet houses and mansions; the poorest live in caged homes, or coffin homes, averaging 15 square feet.

Hong Kong’s Gini Coefficient (a measure of income inequality, where 0 represents total equality; and 1 representing total inequality) Hong Kong coefficient has been steadily climbing since 1974. In 2019, it sat at 0.539. In comparison to other well developed economies, this figure is quite high. The United States’ was at 0.411, and Singapore’s was 0.458.

The basis for Hong Kong’s large income gap stems from its laissez-faire policy with regards to taxation, the primary means for governments to alleviate the wealth gap and distribute income more equally. Currently, Hong Kong uses a progressive, two-tiered corporation tax. Its rate: 8.25% up to HK$2,000,000; and 16.5% over HK$2,000,000. In fact, this figure fell from ten years ago, where Hong Kong used a flat 16.5% tax rate. And even then, 75% of profits tax is waived annually, and in the fiscal year of 2018/19, no profits tax was collected.

However, where the problem lies is not with the government’s revenue, but with its expenditure. There isn’t enough money being put into social welfare for society. Little is given to the Old Age Living Allowance and the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme when the government’s revenue is taken into consideration. In the 2018-19 budget, the HK government sought a HK$50 bln surplus and a welfare, health, and education expenditure of only HK$283 bln. In comparison, Singapore has a budget deficit of HK$19.47 bln in the fiscal year of 2018-19 but an expenditure of HK$210.8 bln. When taking into account population, Singapore is much more lenient in regards to welfare.

When taking a look at the situation that is the caged homes, one can only see it for the dire reality it is.

These caged homes can be comparable to cages for animals, to put it frankly. It is not, and should not, be a place for humans to live. In one flat, it is not rare to find more than twenty occupants living in subdivided caged homes. This brings up the issue of not only space, but health. Needless to say, twenty people living in a room causes ventilation issues. The lack of ventilation can allow pathogens to build up.

As a result of the stark living conditions in Hong Kong, and the seemingly little the HK government does to alleviate this issue, some non-governmental organisations have initiated projects to try and better people’s living conditions. Habitat for Humanity, one of the aforesaid NGOs, aims to create ‘a world where everyone has a decent place to live.’ Their most notable project — Project Home Works — aims to help low-income, elderly, and physically disabled families and individuals renovate and clean their homes. This initiative does help many people, and does restore hope and happiness.

Each month, Project Home Works finds volunteers that would like to make a difference to others. People can volunteer for this program on their website: habitat.org.hk