This thesis argues that an exercise of political will by the government was decisive
to the course of public housing in colonial Hong Kong. Historians have seldom
looked deeply into the local and international politics leading to the development of
public housing. Not until recently did scholars start to challenge seriously the wellknown
Shek Kip Mei fire of Christmas 1953 as the origin of public housing. This
thesis contextualises housing history within broader political issues and challenges
various historical events as watersheds in Hong Kong history, such as the Shek Kip
Mei fire and the 1967 riots. The China factor greatly influenced both colonial rule
and housing policies in Hong Kong by politicising the problems of refugees,
squatters and indigenous people in the colony, as well as by triggering the British to
link Hong Kong’s domestic policies with imperial concerns amidst the global wave
of decolonisation. This thesis also shows how colonialism and laissez-faire
capitalism interacted to make room for the real estate business by ensuring that
public and private housing ran parallel. The act of political will by the government
to choose between different housing solutions obscured the notion of public
housing as social welfare over time. Offering insight into colonialism in Hong
Kong, this thesis argues that the policy making of public housing was extremely
complex because of imperial and colonial concerns, laissez-faire capitalism and the
local people’s interest. / published_or_final_version / History / Master / Master of Philosophy
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:HKU/oai:hub.hku.hk:10722/161581 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Ho, Chi-yeung., 何智揚. |
| Contributors | Carroll, JM, Pomfret, DM, Xu, G |
| Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
| Source Sets | Hong Kong University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | PG_Thesis |
| Source | http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B48079868 |
| Rights | The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works., Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License |
| Relation | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) |
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