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聯署聲明
 2013年10月6日
 
 近年香港房屋問題嚴重，中產置業難、基層上樓難，迫得人人挨貴租。這些港人面對的問題，成因本應在於土地和房屋分配不均，可是政府為製造社會分化，成功將問題說成「土地供應不足」，合理化大規模開發計劃。很可惜，近日有社會人士罔顧問題核心，把政府的「盲搶地」行為歸咎於「新增人口實在太多」，將矛盾指向持單程證的新移民，甚至提出「源頭減人」的比喻，有暗示他們是「廢物」之嫌。我們認為，有關的說法實屬轉移視線，淡化了土地分配不均的問題，成為地產霸權的幫兇。同時亦強化了港人對新移民的偏見，令香港社會進一步走向撕裂。

地產霸權是土地及房屋問題的元兇

香港地價創造歷史新高，是特區政府與寡頭地產商合謀的惡果。地產霸權只強調土地與房屋的交換價值，鼓勵炒作，阻礙香港人爭取可負擔的居住權。

 事實上，從港府統計處數字可見，香港的人口增長已放緩，只是政府一直誇大未來人口增長的數字，為開發更多土地提供合理化的借口。其次，香港也非土地不足，大量空置官地、丁屋預留地、會所、短期租約、未決定用途等政府用地未有利用，總計超過2000公頃。如以政府一公頃平均可建400個單位計算，無須收地，已可建近90萬個單位。供應再多土地，如果都是由地產霸權決定，優先起豪宅，市民上樓或買樓的困難依然沒解決。近日更有地產發展商表示，寧願開發郊野公園，也要保留高爾夫球場。香港土地問題的癥結，於此可見端倪。

 「源頭減人」的說法，將土地分配不均的問題歸咎於弱勢群體，只要求削減中港家庭的來港權利，對於中港家庭長期處於兩地分隔的痛苦置之不理，明顯是配合中港矛盾浪潮，針對內地人，最後轉移對地產霸權和中港政府勾結的批評，讓官商齊齊卸責，並以此賺取政治資本。
 
爭取移民審批制度，追求公義自治

《基本法》確認了「港人治港，高度自治」的權利，爭取自治權跟爭取民主一樣，是港人的政治改革願望。我們認為移入移民的審批權是香港自治的範疇，特區政府應該爭取的決策權。然而，在爭取移民審批權的同時，這審批權也必須建立在香港的核心價值(普世價值)的基礎上，才能保証香港維持一個文明社會。今天，自治權被狹化成排斥新移民，爭取自治只有「排外自治」一言堂。我們認為排外自治不符合香港核心價值的公義原則，因為香港人的家庭團聚是國際基本人權，是不應該取消的。因此，我們倡議「公義自治」，在爭取移民審批權的立場上，必須緊守香港的核心價值，不能剝奪港人家庭團聚的基本人權。

 香港人需要爭取更大權力參與單程證的審批。目前單程証只由內地部門審批，各省各市不同處理，審批過程動輒耗時四五年，不少中港家庭均深受其苦。因此，我們要 求短期內成立由中港代表組成的聯絡工作小組，檢討兩地的出入境安排，並處理關於簽發單程證及雙程證的投訴及上訴事宜；長遠爭取收回審批權，令審批制度可以 更公平更透明，並且實現香港移民政策的完整自治權。
 
檢討旅遊政策及人口政策

2003年中國大陸與香港簽署《內地與港澳關於建立更緊密經貿關係的安排》，開始自由行政策，最初由廣東省四個城市增至現今49個城市，來港旅客劇增，數字由2002的1,650萬人次急增至2012年的4,192萬人次，整體升幅逾1.5倍。急劇增加的旅客數量，對本地的公共交通、社區設施、日常消費構成不少壓力。對於這項影響民生至深的政策，乃令港人感到「迫爆」的原因，港府十年來多次和內地簽訂相關協議，卻從未諮詢港人意見。我們認為香港政府必須檢討現時的旅遊政策，計算香港能夠接待的旅客數量，規劃旅遊配套及旅客入境安排。

適逢人口政策的諮詢將於十月開展，我們認為政府應該檢討自由行政策。除此以外，我們也認為香港政府有需要公開諮詢及檢討各項人口及入境政策，如輸入內地人才計劃、優秀人才入境計劃、資本投資者入境計劃，以至來港就學及工作的安排，以便更準確地評估人口發展，重訂適切於香港的人口政策。

總括而言，我們有以下訴求：
1. 土地與房屋問題的元兇是地產霸權，停止將新移民當成代罪羔羊。
2. 爭取公義自治，改革單程證審批權，短期成立中港聯絡小組，長遠爭取收回審批權。
3. 盡快檢討香港旅遊政策。
4. 公開諮詢及檢討各項入境政策，重訂香港人口政策。
 
發起團體
土地正義聯盟、關注基層住屋聯席、同根社、關注綜援低收入聯盟、關注學童發展權利聯席、關注跨境兒童權益聯席、影子長策會

聯署團體
香港天主教正義和平委員會、香港專上學生聯會、關注中港家庭權利聯席、社會民主連線
 
 
Integrate Hong Kong Society and Support Family Reunion
Petition For Immigration Approval Right,
Return Autonomy Based on Just Principles to Hong Kong
 
Co-sign Statement
October 6, 2013
 
Hong Kong faces severe lack of affordable housing. The middle-class cannot afford to buy; the grassroots must wait extensively in the increasingly long queue for public housing. Everyone is forced to pay exorbitant rent meanwhile. The problem lies in the government’s unequal distribution of land and housing resources in favor of the real estate lobby. It tries to manipulate the situation by divide and rule, pitting one distressed constituency in Hong Kong in need of housing against another and create unnecessary social divisions, like persuading urban population in need of housing to endorse the demolition of rural homes in order to build their own. The government claims the “shortage of land” to justify large-scale development projects and the real culprit is the real estate hegemony. But unfortunately, some people disregard this core problem behind the government's “blind rush to grab land,” take the government’s claim on face value, and attribute the problem to “too many new immigrants” coming in. They displace the blame onto new immigrants with One Way Permits through a malicious analogy: turning the “reduce waste at the source” slogan into their “reduce population at the source” slogan, implicitly comparing immigrants to waste matter. This imagined population problem is a way to divert attention from and downplay the problem of uneven distribution of land and housing resources. By so doing, they become de facto accomplices of the real estate hegemony and also reinforce the prejudice against new immigrants, aggravating social schism in Hong Kong.
 
The real culprit of Hong Kong’s land and housing problems is the real estate hegemony
 
Hong Kong’s record high land price is the consequence of the collusion between the SAR government and the real estate oligarchy. Together they form a real estate hegemony, which only emphasizes the exchange value of land and housing and encourages speculation, to the extent that they impede Hong Kong people’s fight for affordable housing.
 
According to Hong Kong Government Census and Statistics Department figures, Hong Kong's population growth has actually slowed down. However, the government continues to exaggerate projections of future population growth as an excuse to open up more and more land for development. The fact is, Hong Kong does not lack land. Vacant government land lots abound, much of which are reserved for small houses of indigenous people, clubhouses, short-term tenancies, and other undetermined uses, totaling more than 2000 hectares. If according to government calculations, an average of 400 home units can be built per hectare, then nearly 900,000 units can be built on these vacant lots alone, without resuming any land at all. The fact is, so long as land supply decisions are determined by the real estate hegemony, expensive condominiums will still be prioritized, and people’s difficulty in buying their first homes or renting a public housing unit will not be resolved, however much land we open up. Recently, developers have explicitly declared their preference to develop the country parks that the public frequents rather than the golf courses they exclusively enjoy. Obviously, they are the crux of Hong Kong’s land problem, not the new immigrants.
 
The “reduce population at the source” slogan unfairly blames vulnerable new immigrants and their families for the problems cause by uneven distribution of land and housing resources. By advocating the reduction of One Way Permit immigrant entries to Hong Kong for family reunion purposes as a way to reduce population growth, these people misguidedly disregard the long-term pain of separated Hong Kong-China families, exploit the growing tension between Hong Kong and Chinese people, feed into the growing sense of resentment against mainlanders, and by so doing, effectively displace public attention away from the injustice caused by the real estate hegemony and government business collusion to the witch hunt against marginalized scapegoats. This in effect, unwisely allows officials and businessmen to shirk responsibility and earn easy political capital, at the expense of everyone else.
 
Petition For Immigration Approval Right, Pursue Autonomy Based on Just Principles
 
 “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy” is a right stated in the Basic Law. Fighting for autonomy, like fighting for democracy, is the goal of political reform for Hong Kong. We believe that our immigration approval right pertains to Hong Kong's autonomy, and the SAR Government ought to strive for this decision making power. However, the execising of autonomy over immigration approval must be based on Hong Kong’s core values (universal values) to ensure the maintenance of a civilized and just society. Recently, a “xenophobic” constituency is hammering the narrow understanding of autonomy as an “exclusionary autonomy” against immigrants. We believe that this “exclusionary autonomy” does not comply with the principle of justice underlining all core values of Hong Kong, because family reunion for Hong Kong people is internationally recognized as a basic human right. It cannot be denied. Therefore, we advocate a kind of “autonomy based on just principles,” and thus, the petition for Hong Kong’s immigration approval right must adhere to the core values of Hong Kong. Hong Kong people must not be deprived of the basic human right to family reunion.
 
Hong Kong people need to strive for greater power to participate in the approval of One Way Permits (OWP). Currently OWPs are solely approved by mainland authorities, different provinces and cities have different procedures, and the time-consuming process frequently takes up to four/five years, putting many Hong Kong-China families under immense distress. Therefore, in the short-run, we demand the expedient setting-up of a China-Hong Kong liaison working group comprising of representatives from both sides to review immigration arrangements between the two places, and to handle OWP and Two Way Permit (TWP) application complaints and appeals. In the long-run, we petition for the return of immigration approval right to Hong Kong so as to make the approval system fairer and more transparent, and to allow Hong Kong to achieve full autonomy over its immigration policy.
 
 Review Tourism and Population Policies
 
In 2003, China and Hong Kong signed the “Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement” and kick started the “individual travel” policy, extending from initially four cities in Guangdong province to the present 49 cities. Consequently, mainland visitors to Hong Kong surge in numbers from 16.5 million in 2002 to 4,192 million in 2012, constituting a more than 1.5 fold increase. The dramatic increase in the number of visitors put the local public transport system, community facilities and daily consumption habits under overwhelming stress. This profound impact on people’s livelihood created the public impression that Hong Kong is overcrowded to the point of explosion, all the more frustrating because in the past decade, the Government never consulted Hong Kong people prior to signing related agreements with Mainland China.
 
We believe that the Hong Kong Government must review the existing tourism policy, re-estimate Hong Kong’s tourist reception capacity, plan to readjust and realign tourism related services and facilities as well as visitor entry arrangements.
 
Coinciding with the population policy review to be launched in October, we think the government should review the “individual travel” policy in tandem. In addition, we also believe that the Government should consult the public on the revision of population and immigration policies like the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS), Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES), as well as the arrangements for mainlanders to study and work in Hong Kong. This is necessary to more accurately assess population trends and re-design population policy appropriate to present Hong Kong conditions.
 
In conclusion, we have the following demands:
 
1.          The real culprit of Hong Kong’s land and housing problems is the real estate hegemony. Stop scapegoating new immigrants.
2.          We want autonomy based on just principles. Reform the One Way Permit Immigration Approval procedure. In the short-run, establish a Hong Kong-China Liaison Group to oversee matters. In the long-run, return immigration approval right to Hong Kong.
3.          Expedite Review of Hong Kong’s Tourism Policy.
4.          Initiate public consultation and review of immigration policy. Revise population policy.
 
Initiating Organizations
Land Justice League, Alliance for Concerning Grassroots Housing Rights, New Arrival women League, Concerning CSSA and Low Income Alliance, Shadow Long Term Housing Strategies Steering Committee, Alliance for Children Development Rights, Cross Border Children Coalition
 
 
Undersigned groups
Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese, Hong Kong Federation of Student, Alliance for Concerning Mainland-HK Families’ Rights, League of Social Democrats