In the Legislative Council election last year, Shi Liqian, who has been in the real estate and construction industry for many years, no longer seeks re-election. Zhao Shihao, director of Zhuoneng Group, who was once regarded as a popular successor, eventually lost to Long Hanbiao, secretary-general of the Real Estate Construction Chamber of Commerce, and failed to enter the game.
In an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01", Zhao Shihao said that he was supported by more than 100 companies in the industry during the election campaign. On the contrary, his opponents mainly represented real estate giants. Therefore, he decided to set up a "Hong Kong Real Estate and Construction Industry Concern Group", hoping to continue to speak for other stakeholders in the industry.
He pointed out that the follow-up group is very flexible, and believes that under the general trend of "co-prosperity and win-win" in the country, it is "impossible for the industry to win again."
During the election campaign, Zhao Shihao exchanged fire with Longhanbiao many times. Among them, Longhanbiao once described the developer's construction of nano buildings as "market behavior". Zhao Shihao pointed out that this statement was indeed offensive and called on the outside world to "understand" Longhanbiao. Frankly speaking, businesses put the interests of shareholders first, while developers have responsibilities, and the government is the "market maker", while speculators and investors also have a share in causing problems, which ultimately require joint efforts of all parties to resolve.
Zhao Shihao said to himself that all the votes in the Legislative Council election last year were one or two votes per company, and they "returned" one by one, adding up to the support of more than 100 companies.
(Photo by Yu Junliang)
Refers to the opponent relying on big real estate developers to "pass the vote"
For the first time in 17 years, there is a competition for seats in the real estate and construction sectors. The 38-year-old Zhao Shihao challenged Longhanbiao, who is more than 30 years older than him and has the support of major real estate developers. In the end, Zhao Shihao won 138 votes and lost by a margin of over 100 votes. .
He said to himself that all the votes received were one or two votes per company, one by one "calling back", adding up to the support of more than 100 companies; although Longhanbiao received 242 votes, many of them were "passed" by large real estate developers. ”, it is estimated that there may only be about 20 companies in total.
Zhao pointed out that he grew up in Hong Kong and worked in an engineering company. For many years, he has been with different stakeholders in the industry, such as construction workers and masters. Their voices need to be heard.
Zhao Shihao mentioned that he met with construction workers during the election campaign and learned that the industry is not in good shape. Statistics also show that more than half of the workers in Hong Kong are over 50 years old.
He said that the lack of manpower in the construction industry will actually extend to the developer's supply chain, eventually increasing the construction cost and passing it on to the buyers; at the same time, the lack of "succession" of workers will also lead to the shortage of manpower for small engineering companies to take over the work, and eventually the company will be dissolved. have an impact on the entire industry.
In December last year, Long Hanbiao (middle), secretary general of the Land Construction Association, participated in the real estate and construction industry and was supported by Shi Liqian.
(Photo by Liao Yanxiong/File photo)
Set up a focus group with three goals
Although he was unable to enter the bureau, Zhao Shihao still received help from think tanks and other industry figures after the election. "For many people, he is helping a certain sector to run for the Legislative Council; for me, I It is an industry (doing things), and I think the Legislative Council is a platform for voice.”
Zhao Shihao said that his original intention was to help the industry shine, so he decided to set up the "Hong Kong Real Estate and Construction Industry Concern Group" with three goals: 1. To break the old-fashioned image of the real estate and construction industry, so that more young people in the industry can do it together. Good industry, and even provide a platform for participating in politics; second, strengthen communication and exchanges between the industry and the mainland; third, bring out different voices in the industry, not favoring businesses, and promote the healthy development of the industry.
Confidence to be recognized by the industry and the public
Although he criticized his opponents for failing to unite the industry during the election campaign, Zhao Shihao said that the concern group and Long Hanbiao basically have little conflict, "there must be room for cooperation", and since he has no political party restrictions, he has more flexibility than parliamentarians.
For example, he cited a fatal industrial accident earlier, but the deceased worker was later found to have overdose on drugs. He believed that industry members could not make such remarks publicly, otherwise they would definitely be accused of being rude, but he had no burden and could "Speak freely".
The government is about to amend the "Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance" to increase the relevant penalties for builders. Zhao Shihao asked whether the improvement of occupational safety and health can solve the problem by punishing the builders alone. He emphasized that the improvement of occupational safety and health should be discussed by the whole society, thinking about how to improve it. .
Zhao Shihao emphasized that he not only understands the ideas of developers, but also can explain to parliamentarians and officials how to deal with events at the political level, as a bridge to bring the voices of all parties out of the society.
(Photo by Yu Junliang)
However, without the right to vote, what bargaining power do you have as a concern group, and how can you persuade the government to respond to the demands?
Zhao Shihao said with a smile, "Even if a Legislative Council member today wants to change the government's decision, I believe it will not be easy." He admitted that the speeches of Legislative Council members generally attract more attention, but his foundation and the votes he won in the election are all supported. I agree with the public and I believe that his speech is fair enough.
He emphasized that he not only understands the ideas of developers, but also can explain to parliamentarians and officials how events can be handled at the political level, as a bridge to bring the voices of all parties out of society.
Longhan standard refers to the nano building being forced by the high land price Zhao: disgusting but should be considered
During the election, Long Hanbiao pointed out that the construction of nano buildings is not what the developers want, but he pointed out that the high cost of land will naturally lead to high property prices, so nano buildings are "market behavior".
Zhao Shihao pointed out that he noticed that these remarks were criticized one-sidedly. This remark is disgusting, but the outside world should understand that Long Hanbiao is not a "political person" and believes that he just wants to bring out the problems he sees.
Zhao Shihao pointed out that the government has an unshirkable responsibility for the nano-building issue. The core lies in the lack of long-term planning. He pointed out that the government policy has always been inclined in the past.
However, as the central government made it clear that it wants to solve the housing problem, Zhao Shihao believes that the Hong Kong government will actively do things. "Actually, Hong Kong has always had no KPIs!"
Zhao Shihao pointed out that the government is responsible for the nano-building issue, and it is like a "banker", and real estate developers and speculators are also responsible.
(Photo by Yu Junliang)
It means that the government is the "bookmaker", and the solution requires cooperation between officials, businessmen and the people
Zhao Shihao said that the government can provide more support for social needs in terms of policies, such as making efforts in subsidizing land prices.
The government will never give up on land premiums.
For example, if there is a piece of land that needs to be paid for, the government must compare the most expensive land with you. When the land is so expensive, I will buy it and sell it.
Therefore, some people put the responsibility on the development of business.
Gee!
Developers must be partly responsible, but I want to say that speculators, investors also have responsibilities, and so does the government.
Zhao Shihao
He stressed that to solve the problem of nano buildings, developers cannot do it alone. He emphasized that the government is the "market maker" and that citizens and investors must work together.
He also said frankly that the business community has always explained to shareholders first, and the second is social corporate responsibility. However, he said that even if the old-fashioned businessmen may not agree with social responsibility, many of the new generation understand its importance, so they have developed earlier. merchants took out their land.
It is said that there are many good strategies in the industry to solve the housing shortage
As for the best solution to the housing problem in Hong Kong in the short term, Zhao Shihao believes that there are many feasible solutions at present, such as developing agricultural land, expanding the scale of the pilot land sharing scheme, allowing development projects that have not used up their gross floor area to increase the plot ratio, etc.
One of the interesting proposals is that some developers have proposed to allocate the plot ratio between different projects, so that projects with mature infrastructure can provide more housing as soon as possible.
He pointed out that the government needs to think carefully. If there is a lack of forward-looking development, problems will eventually arise.
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