From Shelter to Home
With the growing population in Hong Kong and shortage of land available for development in urban area, the Government decided to construct public housing estates in remote areas. Wah Fu Estate was the first public housing estate to incorporate this concept. It was a self-contained community providing various essential services, such as shops, car parks and a bus terminus, as well as community and recreational facilities. In early 1970s, the Government announced the Ten-year Housing Programme, which provided flats with a complete range of facilities and a decent living environment for 1.8 million Hong Kong citizens. In 1973, in order to support the Ten-year Housing Programme, the Government re-structured the existing housing organisations. The Hong Kong Housing Authority was established for coordination, and the Resettlement Department and Housing Division of the Urban Services Department were amalgamated into the Housing Department as the executive arm of the Housing Authority. In 1976, the Government decided to launch the Home Ownership Scheme, and formulated the Long Term Housing Strategy in 1987, so that better-off public housing tenants and low to middle-income families could buy their own flats. In this episode, Dr LIAO Poon-huai, Donald, former Secretary for Housing, is invited to have a dialogue with HO Wing-yin, Winnie, the Secretary for Housing, to tell the stories of public housing.
