text | Zeng Caian
In the history of our country for thousands of years, the rise and fall of dynasties has been inseparable from the fair distribution of land. Fairness means economic prosperity and national stability, while unfairness means serious annexation, people are in dire straits, and unrest is frequent. For this reason, how to make land distribution take into account the interests of all classes is something that no government can take lightly.
One of the most important reasons why the Communist Party of China was able to win the hearts and minds of the people and establish a new China was that it understood and mastered the above-mentioned laws and adopted land reform policies that benefited the majority of the people during the 28-year revolution. After the founding of New China, the central government has not relaxed its work in this area, and has kept pace with the times and made pragmatic adjustments at different stages of economic development. It can be said that the country's rapid economic development and long-term social prosperity and stability are inseparable from good land policies that address current issues.
When he was running for the sixth term of the Chief Executive, Li Jiachao included " solving the land and housing problems that have long plagued the SAR" as one of his main political platforms. He was concerned about the urgent needs of the public because he saw the importance of this policy, so he directly faced it. right. However, the experience of the SAR over the past 25 years tells us that although good intentions and determination are indispensable foundations for success, they may not be able to effectively and completely solve this complicated and long-standing problem. We also need to accurately observe, hear, and inquire before we can prescribe the right medicine. , remove the root cause of the disease. In this regard, it is a good and targeted approach to deeply study the central government's successful experience in handling land issues after the founding of the People's Republic of China and draw nutrients from it.
Hong Kong is small in area, with a population of only 7.4 million. The land problem is far less complicated than that in the mainland. However, 25 years after its return and five SAR governments, the problem has not only been delayed, but has become more serious in the past five years. Private housing prices and rents have skyrocketed, the waiting time for public housing has soared from more than three years to six years, and many of the scarce government lands have been abandoned for a long time. All these things tell us that the current government has major flaws in its thinking and approach in this regard. Resting on one's laurels.
Land is closely related to all industries and is the first element of economic development. In Hong Kong, where land is precious, its importance is particularly prominent. For this reason, for decades, major businessmen, especially business groups that started out in real estate, have continued to hoard land, forming a powerful community of interests. They work together, overtly or covertly, to influence the SAR government's land policy and tilt it in their favor, giving rise to the so-called collusion between government and business. The central government has long seen this undesirable trend, so in the "Improving Hong Kong District Election Decision", it adjusted the number of members from all walks of life in the election committee, reasonably reduced the shareholding ratio of these commercial capitalists, and significantly reduced their influence on the election committee. Constraints imposed by the new Chief Executive.
Despite this, considering the expansion nature of capitalists, they will still become the most important local political and economic force that Li Jiachao will face when solving the land and housing problem. To be honest, although the Chief Executive has extensive administrative power, he does not have enough energy to make these capitalists willingly cooperate. Once there is a conflict between the two, they will probably not be willing to spit out the disproportionate share of benefits they have enjoyed. They will definitely try every means to resist change. It will be difficult for the fourth-term Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who loves the country and loves Hong Kong and has outstanding abilities, to be re-elected. is the best example.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, everything has been subject to politics. That's why today it has become a country with a rich and powerful country and the second largest economy in the world. Capitalists like Hong Kong are no exception. Frankly speaking, they are much more perceptive than most current SAR officials. They have already seen the central government’s determination to solve Hong Kong’s land and housing problems. Therefore, they spontaneously proposed to cooperate with the SAR government a few years ago to build some transitional housing projects to alleviate the problem. the urgent needs of grassroots citizens. Although it is a positive step for them to do so, it also means "a civet cat for a prince". They hope that the new SAR government will be satisfied and will not significantly change the current land and housing policies that are tilted towards them after taking office.
However, if Li Jiachao accepts the goods in this way, the promise made to all citizens that " aims at results and solves different problems " will be in vain, which will definitely not be conducive to his future governance. Li Jiachao must completely reform the land and housing policy, but he does not need to form a sharp confrontation with these capitalists. The way is to rely closely on the central government, be polite before fighting, and use " punishment, virtue and two handles" to integrate them into a positive force that supports the SAR government. strength. Of course, during the process, their reasonable interests must also be protected to create a win-win situation.
As long as these capitalists are successfully included in Hong Kong's community of destiny, not only will the biggest resistance be resolved, but they will also become strategic partners of the new SAR government and truly take the first step to completely solve the land and housing problem. Of course, in order to relieve urgent needs and gain more maneuvering time, the new government does need to try its best to improve and speed up the implementation details of existing tactics, but it must be clear in its heart that these small efforts may be able to Treating the symptoms temporarily, but not the root cause, otherwise the current government will fall into the vicious cycle of "appearing to be very hardworking on the surface, but having nothing in five years." (To be continued)
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