Prof Anthony Cheung Bing-leung and Mr Stanley Wong Yuen-fai discuss housing issues at Lingnan University’s Distinguished Leaders Dialogue

Lingnan University organises the Distinguished Leaders Dialogue Series — Dialogue on Housing for the Youth today (20 March).

Prof Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, Former Secretary for Transport and Housing and Mr Stanley Wong Yuen-fai, Member of the Housing Authority were invited as panelists for the dialogue, and Mr Ricky Yu Wai-yip, Founder and CEO of Light Be was the dialogue’s facilitator.

In his welcoming address, Prof Leonard K Cheng, President of Lingnan University pointed out that shortage of housing supply and high property prices has triggered many debates in recent years, and is one of the critical social issues in Hong Kong.  Housing issue for the youth has even become a hot topic in the society.  Youth is the future hope of Hong Kong, thus meeting their housing needs is essential for Hong Kong’s future development.  “Apart from teachers and students of Lingnan University, many scholars who concerns about housing and youth development, and representatives from the social welfare as well as real estate related sectors also attended today’s dialogue session.  I hope participants’ active exchange with speakers can explore the way out for the issue of housing for the youth,” said President Cheng.

At the dialogue, the panelists and facilitator analysed phenomena or ideas from various perspectives, with topics included “university students’ wait for public housing”, “reliance on financial support from the family”, “nano flats”, “luxury subdivided flats”, “mortgage slaves”, “Hong Kong people’s priority in using local land”, “the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area rental development” and more.  They will also delved into the reasons behind the rise of co-living spaces and housing concepts that advocate shared accommodation. The dialogue analysed whether government policies such as the Interim Scheme of Extending the HOS Secondary Market to White Form Buyers and “Starter Homes” Pilot Scheme for Hong Kong Residents will be able to relieve the pressure on young home buyers, what is the chief obstacle to tackling young people’s housing demand, and is there a way out for the housing crisis among youths in Hong Kong.

The Distinguished Leaders Dialogue Series is one of the major events in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Lingnan University’s re-establishment in Hong Kong.  Starting from January 2018, distinguished leaders from different sectors are invited to share their insights in the dialogues on topics of public concern including education, financial development, housing for the youth, and creative arts and culture.