| > Real estate is the best investment available in Hong Kong right now. Bar none. Whether it still is now (prices having doubled since the 2007 bottom) is questionable, and depends hugely on political decisions. > With all their capital tied up in real estate, the elites don't invest in startups or R&D. Fully agreed. Not only that, it makes starting a small business extremely expensive. > It's not a backlash towards conflicting political ideology, they just want the Chinese and their damn money out. I'd argue the umbrella movement was borne of four related grievances: * the enormous inequality (coupled with low social mobility) * the extreme cost of getting your own flat (young workers live with their family for a long time, and have to save money for long time before they can put down a downpayment for a tiny apartment (they come in different sizes: shoebox, matchbox, coffin...)) * the gradual erosion of civil liberties * and, yes, the desire for more political self-determination, e.g. universal suffrage or even independence. |