雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】THIS NEWSPAPER has in two consecutive weeks published its "In-depth Report —Anomalous Property Market". In these reports about housing, living space and total property value in Hong Kong are compared with those in nearby or other major cities. Those figures show Hong Kong's property market is almost absurdly anomalous. In Hong Kong, a highly developed economy where per capita GDP exceeds US$40,000, the great wealth housing represents is out of all proportion to the poor per capita housing quality.

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《明報》接連兩周推出「深度報道——樓市怪象」系列，以房屋居住為專題，把港人居住面積、本港物業總值，與鄰近或主要城市比較。從數字上看，本港樓市折射出來的畸形程度，近乎荒謬；以本港人均生產總值超過4萬美元的高度經濟發展，人均居住質素那麼低，而物業所代表的財富卻那麼高，完全不成比例。

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It is certainly a reason why property prices have kept soaring in Hong Kong that interest rates have been low in all parts of the world. However, the main reason is that flats have been in such short supply that there is a serious supply-demand imbalance in the property market. In the decade when Donald Tsang was Chief Secretary for Administration or Chief Executive (CE), he was always under fire from all quarters about land reserve, and it was basically developers that controlled land supply and housing supply. As a result, a particularly huge property bubble has come into being. What price must the Hong Kong economy pay when it bursts? That is indeed hard to estimate. Everybody knows it is impossible for property prices just to keep going up. The higher they are, the more sharply they will fall. It is doubtless because of a man-made calamity that Hong Kong people will have to pay dearly.

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香港樓市近幾年狂飈，全球低息環境固然是因素之一，但本港樓市供應斷層，形成供需失衡，是樓價飈升的主要原因。前任特首曾蔭權由出任政務司長至特首約10年來，於土地儲備方面廣受指摘，土地與房屋供應基本上由發展商主導，終而形成現時樓市的特大泡沫；泡沫的爆破之日，香港經濟要付出多大代價？實在難以估量。任誰都知道，沒有只升不跌的樓市；升得愈高，必然跌得愈重，港人將要付出的代價，無疑是人禍所致。

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Since he took over as CE, Leung Chun-ying has regarded his housing policy as most important. He has tried to tackle the problem by managing demand and increasing supply. However, it is so deep-seated that it is impossible to make supply adequate in a couple of years. Furthermore, the overall atmosphere in the SAR is such that Leung has been impeded in making ambitious plans to increase land supply and land reserve. That is why property prices have kept going up despite the government's efforts to put the property market in order.

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梁振英接任特首之後，視土地房屋政策為重中之重，他以管理需求和增加供應兩招應對，只是沉痾太久，三兩年內不可能扭轉供應不足。此外，整體社會氛圍對梁振英擘劃大規模土地供應和儲備，也多所窒礙，形成樓市屢經治理，樓價則持續照升。

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The Leung administration has tried hard to find land, but it still perceives problems concerning land and housing as matters concerning citizens' lives. As things now stand in the SAR, they are in fact altogether political. The government has encountered stiff resistance in carrying out its north-east New Territories development plan and its reclamation plan. That shows it is hard to convince opposers just with arguments about people's lives. Only if the government tackles those problems by political means can it hope to seize hold of the key link and let everything fall into place.

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梁振英政府努力搜索土地，可是對土地房屋問題的認知，仍然停留在民生思維狀態。其實，土地房屋問題，以本港所處的特定時空，是徹頭徹尾的政治問題。政府推動新界東北發展、規劃填海所遇到的阻滯，充分說明單以民生訴求，難以說服反對力量，唯有循政治層面應對才有望收綱舉目張之效。

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All now talk about how land should be used, and their views are all at variance. There is no lack of land in Hong Kong, and the government is the biggest landlord. However, it is not possible now to set some land free. Hong Kong is 1,104 square kilometres in area, and only 7% of its land is used for housing. If 1% more is used this way, one million people can be housed. If 3% more is used, it will not be an impossible dream for Hongkongers to have bigger living space. What way of using Hong Kong's land is in its best interests? This big question concerns all citizens. It is not exclusive to green activists. The government should allow those in the silent majority an opportunity to express their views. We suggest that a general debate be organised in which all may fully participate and then a plebiscite be held so that the public's wish can be identified, for only if this is done can the land problem be solved once and for all and can Hong Kong become unfettered.

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現在，社會對土地如何使用，七嘴八舌，人言人殊。本港不缺土地，政府更是最大地主，只是未能把部分土地從桎梏中解放出來。例如本港總面積約1104平方公里土地，用於住宅的土地只佔7%；只要住宅用地佔總面積增加一個百分點，就可以住100萬人，增加多至3個百分點，則港人居住面積就大一點，也並非不可實現的夢想。香港土地如何使用才符合最大利益，是全港市民的大事，不應該成為環保人士的禁臠。政府應該讓沉默的大多數有機會就此表達意見和抉擇，我們建議為此組織一次大辯論，讓全民充分參與，然後以全民公決方式反映意志，因為唯有這樣才可以徹底解決土地問題，使香港得以鬆綁。

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明報社評 2014.12.10

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Wience Lai

Lecturer, HKCC

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/social_communication/details.php?id=112&lang=eng

袁振華博士

香港理工大學中文及雙語學系講師

www.cbs.polyu.edu.hk/staff-chi/chunwah-yuen.php

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