Rising income inequality is one of the major themes lined up at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Hong Kong, as one of the busiest business hubs in Asia, is also facing the threat of growing wealth disparity.
Hong Kong: a city of contrasts. In these so-called cage homes, where it's dim, cramped and hot, Hong Kong's low-income earners make do with subdivided spaces, where toilets and kitchens are shared. A few train stops away, one finds the height of luxury towering over.
The contrast reveals the city's yawning gap between the rich and poor. The World Economic Forum warns rising inequality globally is the single biggest risk this year, even as economies in many countries begin to recover. The forum further warned of a lost generation of young people who don't have jobs.
"What do you do if your car breaks down, what do you do if your plumbing pipes don't work anymore? The young people don't want to do these jobs anymore," said Enzio von Pfeil, senior advisor from MCL Assets Limited.
A recent independent study says there are 160,000 more needy people in Hong Kong than identified by the government. About one in five Hong Kongers lives a poor and deprived life, struggling to afford three meals a day.
Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung made housing for the poor one of his top priorities in last week's policy address. The new target is to provide a total of 470,000 units in the coming ten years, with public housing accounting for 60 percent, Leung says.
While the statistics look dire, some experts say there are far more countries or regions other than Hong Kong suffering rising income inequality. And that's what the Davos forum hopes to achieve this week: achieving a consensus on how to stop that gap widening, and keep social upheavals from boiling over.
Source: CCTV
