HK Cage Homes and the Bauhinia Heroine

I’m really late blogging this, picked these up ages ago and then sat on putting it together (sorry)… Because we renewed our rental contract recently (34% increase from where we locked in 2 years ago – ouch!), we were researching rental costs couple months back… Who knew HK Cage Homes cost more to rent per sq ft than the lofty residences on the Peak?

A 15-square-foot cubicle Cage Home costs around HKD1,500 in rental a month (so about HKD100 p.s.f.)… A home on the Peak rents for around HKD30-40 p.s.f per month. 

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU4jjdRzy3w&feature=related]

Video uploaded by Journeyman Pictures here. The first thing you feel when you watch the 8 year old girl is helplessness… Maybe that’s why there’s a Bauhinia Heroine, as reported in South China Morning Post and various other news sites few weeks ago… (Not sure about the choice of costume though, but she was apparently handing out cash, that’s still a good thing, right?)

And no, it’s not just men who live here… I asked a local male friend who replied it was probably men-only and I wouldn’t want to venture here because  “especially in summer” “guys are stinky,” but he did also say sometimes single guys might like renting these temporarily just for the convenience (though that’s probably not everyone’s reason for doing so)… And then among the 2009 Artwalk Cage Home Exhibition by Society for Community Organization were the following profiles, women and men:

Liu Dexiang is a 37 year-old woman originally from Sichuan who works over twelve hours every day – and at night, lives in a suffocating top-floor, rat and bedbug infested cubicle. Although living in a space of a mere 15 square feet and sharing bathroom and kitchen facilities with over twenty other residents, Liu remains full of hope. She has aspirations of a reunion with her husband and children and to be relocated in public housing.

Liu, a new immigrant from China, is willing to endure all kinds of pain: “My husband is now unemployed, my children have to go to school; I must continue to weather all this hardship…”

A Cage-homed Hawker

“In the old days, the life of a hawker was easier. I sold all kinds of animals’ entrails and fish balls!” When he reminiscences about the golden years of a hawker’s life, Jiang Shaojiu always becomes excited; however, the entire hawking business began to decline after the Hong Kong government stopped renewing hawker’s licenses in the 1980s.

Due to his lower income, Jiang moved to cage home accommodation and now suffers from the bites of bedbugs. The place in which Jiang lives has no kitchen and all the residents must buy take-away meals. Jiang, himself, only eats twice a day so he can save money – when he feels hungry, he can only imagine the happier days of his hawker’s life.

Living Alone

Chan Hong-shun is 51 years old and suffers from depression and previously worked as a janitor and porter. Unfortunately, because of his illness and the effects of his medication, he is no longer fit to work – he now relies entirely on public assistance. He has spent nights on the bridges of Tung Chau Street and in tiny bed spaces; currently he is living in a cockloft.

Chan has lost contact with his former wife and his family and now spends his days and nights alone, aimlessly strolling the city. Every night at 8pm, he returns to his windowless cockloft and face absolute loneliness.

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I got the above off Connectdot Films; I don’t comment on politics because I consider myself generally too clueless and should therefore not be listened to regarding politics. But I had to say something about free speech, I find members of the public in Hong Kong are allowed to be relatively outspoken and critical – in some parts of the world this might be considered quite a luxury.