New home for new year: underprivileged Hong Kong youth call for authorities to tackle housing shortage, increase payouts from subsidies
- NGO poll of 5,000 youngsters rates government performance as 19 out of 100, with respondents saying housing shortage is top concern
- School students from impoverished households speak out about cramped living conditions, impact of low income
Hong Kong secondary school student Jimmy Liang Xikun’s biggest wish for the new year is to finally move into a public rental home with his family after almost a decade of waiting.
The household of six, which includes Liang’s prematurely born baby sister, is crammed inside a 200 sq ft, two-bedroom cubicle flat, which costs them HK$7,000 (US$896) a month.
“We are always stuck in our bedroom, except at mealtimes, because there’s not much space to move,” the 14-year-old said on Sunday. “I normally study in the living room, but I can hardly focus when my baby sister is around.”
The family’s sole breadwinner is Liang’s father, who is employed as a construction worker and earns HK$30,000 a month.
While the family also receives some elderly and student allowances from the government, medical expenses for Liang’s sister have put pressure on the household’s finances.
