[Field-Homework 3] Unequal HongKong: Nineteen to Twenty One South Lane, Shek Tong Tsui, Hong Kong Island

YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYlzbgJeglI

Producer: Dayu HU (UID: 3036100064)

Description of Video content:

The video can be primarily separated into two parts. The first part uses a conversation between friends as a medium to roughly introduce the building that is the subject of the video, South Lane Nineteen to Twenty-One, from a first point of view. The second part of the video takes a turn with Dayu turning into a cockroach, showing the street surroundings of the disappearing building from the cockroach’s point of view, and using the different scenes on both sides of the street as a contrast to show how inequality is embodied in the building as a major city characteristic of Hong Kong.

The first part unfolds with a conversation between Lynn and Dayu, in which Lynn gives a brief introduction to the main body of the building for this video and describes its dilapidated appearance. The pair’s path of action is shot in long shots from a distance, showing the street environment to the left of the building at 19-21 South Lane, with a close-up of One South Lane at the beginning of the video as a surrounding building which make comparison to 19-21 South Lane. When the camera switches to a close up of 19-21 South Lane, the entire front of the building is shown more clearly, and the close up of the broken window on the first floor shows even more of the old age and dilapidation of the entire building. This section ends with the realization of Dayu’s disappearance after Lynn walking up the steps to show a portion of the building’s interior.

The second part is made up of Dayu’s monologue and the sights seen from the cockroach’s low body view. First Dayu shows the street environment on the right side of 19-21 South Lane from the cockroach’s point of view and uses The Belcher’s as a contrast to this building on the right side of the street, demonstrating that the buildings to the left and right of 19-21 South Lane are renovated, newer buildings and that 19-21 South Lane seems out of place in the center. The video that follows focuses on Eight South Lane, another fine building across the street, as the most notable contrast across the street, and makes two veiled comparisons.

One is the contrast between the characters, with Dayu, who has turned into a cockroach, and a delivery man pushing a wheelbarrow appearing on this side of the street at 19-21 South Lane, while across the street at 8 South Lane shows laid-back people enjoying afternoon tea and a dog sunbathing in the sun, demonstrating the vastly different forms of life. The second is the contrast of the cars, as the street is a narrow one lane street and both the cars from 19-21 South Lane and 8 South Lane appear on the same street. I used the slow passing Mercedes as well as the trucks speeding by at the end as a contrast to show how no second can be wasted for low-income people. And for the laid back high earners enjoying their afternoon tea, one must drive carefully in such a narrow street. The final shot can also be interpreted as an allusion to the death of the cockroach, as a representative of the poor sanitary environment on this side of the street, the cockroach is perhaps doomed to be unable to integrate into the heavenly life on the opposite side of the street, and the trucks speeding by on this side of the street certainly have no time to care about a small cockroach.

Methodology:

The first thing that caught my attention was actually the parking lot next to 19-21 South Lane, which being an open parking lot, the cars parked inside could be observed in their entirety. Interestingly, I saw a very extravagant Porsche drive out of it to pick up someone downstairs at 8 South Lane, but at the same time I also saw very bulky vans and very old cars parked in it. The next thing I noticed were two buildings just a street away from each other, 8 South Lane and 19-21 South Lane, the narrow street in between is called South Lane. This is not an uncommon sight in Hong Kong, and a beautifully decorated skyscraper standing next to a very old building can be considered a characteristic of Hong Kong streets, so I set out on a quest to discover what makes such a unique style.

The research turns out that Hong Kong is one of the few economies in the world with the most unequal distribution of wealth, and the index widely used in economics to measure the relationship between an economy’s wealth and its population is the Gini Index.In 2024, Hong Kong’s Gini Index is predicted to be 51.7, while the United States, the world’s most widely recognized unequal developed economy, holds a Gini Index of 57.4. What is even more horrifying is that Hong Kong is also characterized by extreme income inequality, with the income of the richest 10% of households being 57.7 times that of the bottom 10%, and income inequality is further aggravating wealth inequality. Behind such a series of horrifying figures is a revelation of the very unequal social situation in Hong Kong. To some extent, Hong Kong and the US are already fairly comparable in terms of wealth inequality. At the same time, Hong Kong is also one of the most densely populated developed economies in the world due to the very limited amount of developed living space. These two characteristics, when closely linked to the city of Hong Kong, have resulted in the street style and architecture that characterize Hong Kong.

Given the current state of 19-21 South Lane as it is, with its mostly broken windows and gradually peeling siding, it will be very unsuitable for residents in the near future unless it is completely refurbished. And if the whole building is demolished, the accommodation of the existing residents therein will become a major problem for the Government and the developer. According to the survey, there is an existing housing scheme called “public housing (公屋)” in Hong Kong, which provides government-subsidized housing for families who cannot afford the rent through an assessment process. However, although such housing is tidier in appearance than the 19-21 South Lane, its usable area is much smaller than that of a normal home, and the difficulty of applying for it is even more prohibitive.

To summarize, Hong Kong’s growing wealth inequality as a developed economy and the high density of its population due to its geographic location have combined to create a unique landscape of luxury flats and old, dilapidated homes on Hong Kong’s streets. With the demolition and renovation of the old houses, although the exterior has been upgraded to a certain extent, the interior of those newly built apartment, as well as the essential wealth inequality of Hong Kong society, has not been fundamentally improved. The disappearance of 19-21 South Lane may have made the South Lane look more harmonious, but the essence of the problem which is inequality has not been solved.

Reference:

https://hk.centanet.com/estate/en/19-21-South-Lane/2-TTNMZHSEHX

https://hk.centanet.com/estate/寶翠園/3-SSPPWPPAPS

https://hk.centanet.com/estate/Eight-South-Lane/2-SSPPWWPVWG

Thomas Piketty, Li Yang, Income and Wealth Inequality in Hong Kong, 1981–2020: The Rise of Pluto-Communism?, The World Bank Economic Review, Volume 36, Issue 4, November 2022, Pages 803–834, https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhac019

Huang, Y., & Li, S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Housing inequality in Chinese cities. Abingdon: Routledge.

Hong Kong wealth gap at its worst in over 10 years, Oxfam finds. South China Morning Post. (2023, September 19). https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3235101/hong-kongs-poorest-households-struggle-benefit-post-pandemic-recovery-wealth-divide-reaches-worst 

Chu, R. (2012). Extra extra small: Learning from poverty, density, housing, and Hong Kong (Doctoral dissertation, Carleton University).

Tang, W. S., Lee, J. W., Hui, T. W., & Yip, M. K. (2019). The “Urban density” question in Hong Kong: From absolute space to social processes. City, Culture and Society, 17, 46-53.

Chan, S. M., Wong, H., Chung, R. Y. N., & Au‐Yeung, T. C. (2021). Association of living density with anxiety and stress: A cross‐sectional population study in Hong Kong. Health & social care in the community, 29(4), 1019-1029.

https://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/tc/flat-application/index.html

Appendix: Transcript 

Dayu: So looking forward to our party today! Is this your home? It looks so well decorated. It’s a very new building, isn’t it?

Lynn: hhhh actually not, there’s still a bit to go.

Lynn: Through this parking lot, can you see? Which is the little greenish blue one, oh some of the siding has fallen off hahahahahahahaha, it looks more gray now.

Dayu: It does look a bit dated haha.

Lynn: yeah, We’re here! South Lane, my room is on the first floor on the left hand side. There are only seven floors. So lets just take the stairs. Btw we only have stairs inside. 

Dayu: You mean the room with the broken window? It doesn’t look very safe.

Lynn: It’s just something old. You’ll see. Let’s go! I live here with my grandma, she’s making you cookies.

Lynn: Dayu? 

Dayu: im here, here!!

Lynn: Where are you??

Lynn: Is this you? How did you get like this? Don’t worry I’m going to get you some help!

Dayu: Wow, the whole world looks so different from this perspective. Is that the famous luxury residence around HKU, The Belcher’s?

Dayu: It doesn’t look like it’s going that way. Is it this way?

Dayu: Omg what’s that huge noise? I’m gonna be pass out.

Dayu: Oh, it’s a cart.

Dayu: What’s on the other side of the street? It looks a lot quieter.

Dayu: Dude be careful, but there’s no rush as you watch.

Dayu: Jesus everything is so peaceful and blissful here, it’s a whole different world from the other side of the street.

Dayu: Everyone looks so laid back and cozy, even the puppy is lying down in the sun.

Dayu: Complete windows, lush vegetation.

Dayu: Is Lynn still waiting across the street for me to taste the cookies in that room with the precarious window. Maybe I should go bask to that side and eat for her. 

Dayu: Oops why are you in such a hurry with this truck, that Mercedes just passed by was much more laid back than you.

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