Northern Metropolis can ‘diversify’ housing for young Hongkongers: John Lee

Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis will provide an opportunity to diversify the housing ladder for young people, the city’s leader has said, while also pledging to create a more conducive environment for the cultural sector to build a globally recognised “Hong Kong brand”.

“The government has been diversifying the housing ladder,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said at the second town hall meeting held at the Kowloon Tong Government Primary School on Sunday.

“The Northern Metropolis gives us an opportunity with more land, and the size [of the flats] can be larger.”

At the first session of the forum, participants raised a range of suggestions covering housing, the cultural sector, and innovation and technology.

Lee also said Hong Kong should establish a globally recognised brand in the cultural and arts industries. He noted that the government would provide policy support in areas such as subsidies and venues, but the actual development would ultimately depend on the artists themselves.

Lee met with about 120 residents at the forum to solicit opinions on the city’s first five-year plan and his annual policy address.