A powerful Hong Kong rural group has called on the government to stabilise the property market by scrapping “spicy measures,” as representatives met Chief Executive John Lee to submit recommendations for the leader’s second Policy Address later this year.
Speaking to reporters in Cantonese after the meeting with Lee on Wednesday, Heung Yee Kuk chairman Kenneth Lau said the government should consider whether “spicy measures,” such as stamp duties, introduced to curb rampant speculation were still effective.
The Heung Yee Kuk – a statutory body made up of representatives of the Rural Committees in the New Territories – submitted 35 recommendations spanning nine areas on Wednesday, focusing on development in the Northern Metropolis. Public consultation on the 2023 Policy Address, which outlines the government’s policy agenda for the year ahead and will be delivered on October 25, began late last month.
Lau also said that rising US interest rates would have a “definite negative impact” on the local economy, adding that now was the “best time” to scrap demand-side measures and stabilise the property market.
“They’ve been there for over 10 years,” he said, referring to the special stamp duties, adding that property prices had been plunging as interest rates hiked.
Integrated development
Heung Yee Kuk also suggested the government improve development in urban and rural areas.
That suggestion aligns with a policy framework put forward by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in April 2019, outlining procedures for eradicating disparities in urban and rural development and living standards in the years leading up to 2035.
Lau said planning for the San Tin Technopole project – a technology hub near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China – failed to integrate development between urban and rural areas.
“In the recently launched San Tin Technopole development plan, it appears that urban and rural development continues to be separate, and does not unleash the potential of rural land,” Lau said.
The San Tin Technopole itself would cover 627 hectares, including some 300 hectares for tech purposes and more than 50,000 homes. It is intended to support the city’s ambition to become an international innovation and technology hub.
Lau added that Heung Yee Kuk last week launched a consultation on Yuen Long and North District ancestral land sites, and would submit a report to the government by October.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said last month that the Development Bureau was in talks with the rural body to explore options for streamlined ancestral land resumption for development.
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