Hong Kong will hold its next legislative election on Dec 7, with the new legislators taking office in January. I would like to share some of my suggestions for them to act on. I believe these suggested policies will help Hong Kong develop into a vibrant and prosperous society with young people cherishing hope for a better future for all of us.
Although I am an economist by training, my focus in this article is not directly related to economic development, although they will certainly complement Hong Kong’s currently well directed economic policies, under which I do believe Hong Kong is on track to become a highly successful financial and innovative business center with a better-balanced economic structure. Most of these ideas I have already discussed in this column previously.
First, I strongly plead with our legislators to help push through legislation that will require all employers to buy an insurance policy on occupational grave injury or fatality. The proposed compensation is HK$1 million ($128,000). The compensation requires only that the person involved is gravely injured or killed while at work, where gravely injured means loss of employability, and that the victim has taken reasonable safeguards available to protect himself (such as the use of a secure safety belt while working at a height).
Too many workers have died or been seriously injured risking their lives to procure Hong Kong’s economic development. When an industrial or other kind of occupational accident occurs, the victim’s family immediately falls into a crisis. Apart from the emotional loss, the sufferings due to financial pressures are immense. Often, even very meager payments from the employer are disbursed over many months or even years because the employer itself is financially unable to pay.
Because the award is specified and the insurance cost varies with assessed risks, the insurance cost will not translate into a huge burden for employers with a clean record or that employ workers with very little risk. Insurance costs will spike if a serious accident occurs triggering compensation. This will give a strong incentive for employers to do everything necessary to ensure safety. Employers are of course liable for charges for negligence or gross negligence if there is evidence.
Second, I hope that our legislators will, instead of persuading the government to relaunch the Tenants Purchase Scheme (privatization of public rental housing for sitting tenants), strive for a new Home Ownership Scheme that I call “HOS II”, which offers all residents a modest, accessible flat of approximately 400 square feet — good enough to raise a small family. These flats would be “built on order”, which means the government would commit to delivering a flat that is accessible but never built on prime land, which should be reserved for private housing. The idea is to have “built-in incentives” to move out for better private housing when the original buyer is financially ready to trade up for better housing. HOS II buyers would not have to repay the owed land premium and could resell the flat any time. They must, however, live in the flat and must not own other properties in Hong Kong.
I would propose that “new residents” — people who have newly arrived in Hong Kong to work — should also be eligible to buy these flats, which would be sold at an average price of eight times the median household income for economically active households. Those who cannot afford such housing should apply for public rental housing. Buyers as owners should of course be responsible for maintenance and management costs. Thus, the HOS II program would be fiscally sustainable.
Third, I think we should relaunch the solid waste charge program immediately but adopt a per-household charge instead of charging by volume. The per household charge of course is much less precise than charging by volume but will involve much lower compliance costs and be much easier to implement. Singapore adopted this approach long ago, proving that it is administratively simple. It is not only educational but also will generate important financial resources to help with recycling and other environmental projects. At the same time, we should accelerate the construction of state-of-the-art incinerators. I•Park1, expected to commission this year, will handle up to 3,000 tons of municipal solid waste per day and generate up to 480 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year — enough to power 100,000 households. The development of the Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 2 (I•PARK2), with an expected municipal solid waste treatment capacity of about 6,000 tons per day, is still in the planning stage. The construction of this and more incinerators should be accelerated.
Finally, Executive Council Convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee mentioned that an old store in Wah Fu Estate is now facing the predicament of having to move to a much smaller store space after redevelopment. These days, big brands take up all the shopping space in our shopping malls, leaving little breathing space for small and medium-sized businesses. I had proposed early on that a fraction of each shopping mall, whether on public estates or in private developments, should be rented out on favorable terms to small businesses that potentially can offer a “Hong Kong flavor”, which can be a draw for tourists who are tired of seeing the same chain stores in each shopping mall.
The author is an honorary research fellow at the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Lingnan University, and an adjunct professor at the Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, the Education University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
