A few days ago, there was an advertisement in a local and a Taiwan newspaper suggesting that Hong Kong should reduce the inflow of mainland immigrants. According to the advertisement, the problem of housing shortage now facing Hong Kong can be solved if the city can reduce the number of immigrants. The advertisement has aroused heated debate on the subject of immigrants and there is also concern about discrimination against new immigrants.

Whether or not the advertisement advocates discrimination is subject to debate. However, limiting the number of immigrants from the mainland does not help solve Hong Kong's housing problem. The idea that immigrants cause Hong Kong's acute housing shortage is emotional and without grounds. Under existing rules, it is true that there can be 150 new immigrants coming to Hong Kong each month. However, statistics tell us that the 150 quota has not been filled up in recent years. That means, if immigration really is the cause for Hong Kong's housing problem, the reduction in immigrants coming to Hong Kong should help to ease the problem. However, we only observe the housing problem becoming more serious. The queue for rental public housing is getting longer, and many of the grassroots families have to live in subdivided units. This has clearly shown that immigration is not the root of Hong Kong's housing problem.

Worse still, labeling new immigrants as the cause not only oversimplifies the problem, it also arouses mistrust and conflict among people in society. Hong Kong's housing problem is complicated, and finding a scapegoat is convenient. If scapegoats are weak at expressing their difficulties and cannot defend themselves, it is even more wonderful for those who accuse the new immigrants. Those who suffer from Hong Kong's housing problems have a vent for their anger. Those who accuse the new immigrants are likely to be seen as heroes by people who suffer from the housing problem. Under the current election system, these voices can win support from a minority and this minority support may well be enough for a politician to get a seat in the Legislative Council. It is not surprising that we have witnessed these accusations in recent times.

When we look at the housing problem more carefully, the deep-rooted issue is still the lack of land. When we do not have enough land for housing, the cost of housing will increase. Those who cannot afford private housing will turn to public housing. The queue for public rental housing will become long. The outcome of a shortage of housing is indeed a manifestation of the lack of land.

If we really want to find the relation between immigration and the housing problem, we should compare the housing problem under different periods. At the turn of the millennium, when the number of daily immigrants from the mainland was the same, we did not have a housing shortage. The problem at that time was that there were too many empty apartments waiting for people to purchase. People at that time did not complain about sky-rocketing housing prices, indeed, they complained about falling housing prices. Further, at that time, the waiting time for rental public housing was short. In some cases, there was even zero waiting time. Hence, it is not scientific to blame immigrants for Hong Kong's housing problem.

The existing housing problem is caused by the lack of land. Nevertheless, many people just do not want to face this reality. In terms of total area, Hong Kong does not have a shortage of land. The issue is how to make the land available for development. The sad truth, however, is that many concerned groups nowadays oppose development plans. Critics use the tactic of pointing to some other solutions when a development plan is announced. The suggested solutions have their own constraints and oppositions. The trick is to point to these solutions, and try to emphasize how bad the original development was. The so-called alternative solutions, however, are not practical at all. When the government wants to pursue the original development plan, people will say that it is not listening to people's voices. Again, the opposition side always wins and the government always loses.

The belief that new immigrants cause Hong Kong's housing problem is far from true. We should not welcome such actions. After all, hitting one's agenda by hurting others does not seem to be an acceptable strategy in a civilized society.

The author is dean of the School of Business at Hang Seng Management College.

(HK Edition 10/17/2013 page1)