Government demolition. Simple public housing｜The "iron triangle" of land and housing has become a "one-man show" - it is difficult for He Yongxian

"I think of two words in my heart, 'We are at the same end of the world, and we can overcome the roughness together'. This has always been the spirit of Hong Kong people." Ho Wing-yin, Secretary of the Housing Bureau, because of the high cost of "simple public housing" and the location of Kai Tak, etc. The controversy has become the target of public criticism. Yesterday (February 2) when I saw the media, I once quoted the lyrics of "Under the Lion Rock" with emotion, calling on the public to show empathy, not only to see themselves, but also to see the needs of others.

The object of her appeal may not be the same as the other two corners of the "iron triangle" of the Li Jiachao government's land and housing decision-making. Ning Hanhao, director of the Development Bureau who squeezed out the disputed land.

The "Iron Triangle" was touted by the media

As we all know, Chief Executive Lee Ka-chao has been doing his best to "pay homework" since he was a child, and "simple public housing" is exactly what he has repeatedly ordered in the central government to say "Hong Kong must bid farewell to subdivided housing", "break down the barriers of fixed interests", and "break down deep structural contradictions". Next, a big homework that I am determined to hand over.

For this reason, before Li Jiachao took office, the SAR government also carried out a structural reorganization, splitting the "Transportation and Housing Bureau" that had been in operation for 15 years into the "Transportation and Logistics Bureau" and the "Housing Bureau", so that the latter could concentrate resources and energy to expedite Construction of public housing; In addition, the authorities have added the post of "Deputy Secretary for Finance" to be responsible for cross-departmental coordination between the Development Bureau and the Housing Bureau, focusing on space planning, land supply and housing construction.

Last year, before the current accountable officials were officially revealed, news had spread in political circles that Li Jiachao would entrust the then Secretary of the Development Bureau, Huang Weilun, the Permanent Secretary of the Development Bureau, Ning Hanhao, and the Director of the Architectural Services Department, Ho Wing-yin, with the "top priority" We must promote them to serve as Deputy Secretary for Finance, Director of the Development Bureau, and Director of the Housing Bureau of the new government.

However, as soon as the news came out, people in the market generally had slight comments on Huang Weilun, who had "insufficient land supply", and worried that he would continue to make no achievements; in view of this, people in the government immediately released the news to familiar media, on the one hand, they praised Ning Hanhao and He Yongxian " The reputation in the circle is very good", "has the style of a general", "political skills", "very familiar with policies", "work is very efficient", etc. On the other hand, it is described that the two of them have always "cooperated closely" with their boss Huang Weilun. , It is expected that an "iron triangle" of land and housing decision-making teams will be formed. In addition, the boss, Financial Secretary Chen Maobo, was also the director of the Development Bureau. It is believed that it is expected to strengthen collaboration and improve execution.

However, at that time there were already voices who questioned that this combination might not be able to deliver homework that satisfies the central government and the people of Hong Kong.

The seemingly brand-new decision-making team is just "changing names but not people" - when their "heads" remain unchanged, it is difficult to change their problem-solving methods; No change of medicine”—although more comfortable “transitional housing” was used to alleviate the hardships of grassroots housing, it did not structurally solve the unequal distribution of land and wealth.

"One-man show" was reprimanded for incompetence

Today, the "simple public housing" project will apply to the Legislative Council for the first appropriation of about 15 billion yuan to build 17,000 units in the first phase, and announce eight sites.

I don’t know whether the central government is satisfied, but I believe some Hong Kong citizens are not satisfied: one is that the construction cost is too high, not cheaper than traditional public housing, and it only takes five years, so the cost-effectiveness is very low. It is hard to understand why they should not directly build traditional public housing; The logic of the site is messy, some are too remote, such as located at the end of Liantang in Sheung Shui and Yau Pok Road in Yuen Long, and some are located in the urban area, such as Kai Tak World Games, which has been planned to develop the second central business district (CBD) As a result, property owners in the area were worried about falling property prices and population saturation, and were dissatisfied that the authorities threatened to demonstrate and submit for review without consultation.

It is understood that Li Jiachao has already blamed He Yongxian, the official in charge of the "simple public housing" project, for his ineffectiveness in handling affairs, especially for not doing a good job in explaining the work.

Some people in political circles observed that Ho Yong-hsien's expression has been gloomy recently, and she lacked the high-spirited spirit of "rolling up her sleeves and working hard" when she took office. She was also moved when she met the media after attending a public event yesterday. , hand in hand to flatten the rough" expresses feelings, with a slight sense of grievance.

Why "wronged"?

It is reported that the above-mentioned two major issues that have caused public dissatisfaction have their own reasons, and Ho Yong-hsien is the "sandwich class" who is "duplicate".

On the evening of February 2, a number of property committees in private housing estates in Kai Tak held a resident meeting to oppose the government’s construction of simple public housing on World Win Road in the area. If the government ignores the appeal, it will launch a demonstration or even submit for judicial review.

(Photo by Ou Jiale)

Self-knowledge VS Seeing flowers through the fog

Take the cost dispute as an example. There were no details when it was announced last year, and the follow-up information has been revised again and again. There are still many gaps to be filled, and the decimals and large numbers do not match at all.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Housing Authority (HA) and its executive agency, the Housing Department, which were originally responsible for the planning, construction, and management of public housing for a long time, did not actively cooperate with the officials in charge to "speed up, improve efficiency, and The basic policy of “increasing the volume” made the other party look like a “commander without soldiers”, and had to mobilize the “Architectural Services Department” with less relevant experience to take charge of the design and construction. Coupled with the tight schedule, the performance was not as satisfactory.

As for the site selection turmoil, I heard that many people in the political circle are also ignorant. Apart from wondering whether Ho Wing-hsien's political assistant, Ouyang Wenqian, had "smelled the smell" in time and reminded him to "be careful of landmines", they were also curious. Who decides on the site selection?

What are the respective responsibilities between the Housing Bureau and the Development Bureau?

Where is the Deputy Director of the Financial Secretary who is supposed to coordinate the two parties?

As the person in charge of the project, Ho Wing-hsien inevitably faced "enemies". It was not until yesterday that she made it clear that the land search work would be handled by the Development Bureau. When asked by reporters what would happen to the Kai Tak site after the project expired, she also pointed out that the Development Bureau would decide.

Afterwards, the Development Bureau finally responded on Facebook, promising to release the land in five years and develop according to the original plan.

For Ho Wing-hsien, it may be "you know what you suffer"; for the public, there are many unresolved questions: What's wrong with the bureaucracy?

Which interests are tugging at each other?

The twists and turns of "simple public housing" are really just "explanatory issues"?

When dealing with long-term conflicts with short-term thinking, but implementing short-term measures with long-term means, what lessons will be handed over?