Two million people plugged the streets of Hong Kong on June 16, estimated the protest organizers, while the police said there were 338,000 protesters on the agreed procession route. Tallies aside, framing these overcrowded streets were overcrowded homes.
Hong Kong has the world’s most expensive real estate market. The average property costs nearly $1.6 million, according to an annual global report by the American real estate firm, CBRE. The waitlist for public housing is 5.5 years, while many other apartments are not fire-safe. A 2016 census showed that more than 200,000 Hongkongers live in subdivided flats, and such flats often have per-person dimensions not much larger than the area of a ping pong table.
George is from Singapore, the second most expensive housing market according to the CBRE report, but Singaporeans elect their government. In 2014, Hongkongers called for electoral reform with a series of protests known as the “umbrella revolution.” George says they would have been less likely to call for reform if they had liveable homes, as they otherwise enjoy a remarkably well-run city.
Hongkongers have not traditionally protested against Chinese interference. In the 1970s, most students demanded unity with China and successfully protested to make Chinese an official language in the city, rather than solely English.
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