Buy Bay Area Flats For HK Public Housing: FTU

The SAR government should be allowed to purchase idle property from the private sector in the Greater Bay Area to use as public housing for Hongkongers, the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) said on Sunday.

That's among an array of proposals the unionists are taking to next month's "two sessions" in Beijing. The annual plenary meetings of the nation's legislative and political advisory bodies, the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), see delegates from across the country discuss China's goals for the year.

FTU chairman Stanley Ng, who’s a NPC deputy, said he believes the lower cost of property on the mainland can help alleviate the SAR's housing problems at an affordable price.

"It's so difficult to find land and so costly to build public housing in Hong Kong. For example, it takes almost HK$1 million to build a light public housing flat, and management fees could run to more than HK$2,000. People can use the same amount of money to rent a 700-square-foot unit on the mainland," he said.

The government is planning to build 30,000 light public flats as one of a number of initiatives to reduce the wait for public housing.

Ng also suggested that students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan should have to undertake ideological political courses on the mainland. At present, students in the territories are exempt, but Ng says such courses are crucial for young people to integrate into the nation's development.

The union will be tabling a total of 17 proposals to the upcoming "two sessions", most of which focusing on building connections between Hong Kong and the rest of the Greater Bay Area.