Young people can join the army to alleviate housing demands, pro-establishment lawmaker Paul Tse Wai-chun suggested on Wednesday during a LegCo debate on a housing motion.
Tse said that young people can enlist in the army voluntarily, so that they will have a dormitory to live in. “After they retire from the army, maybe they can enjoy cheap or free rent for their living quarters for up to five years.”
“Joining the army can turn them into real men,” Tse said while listing several other benefits of enlisting. “It can also develop in them a stronger concept of the country and of society.”
Tse criticised the government for narcissistically boasting about its achievements in housing policies, but without actually introducing any effective measures. “The reality is that increasingly small and expensive apartments are being built,” Tse said.
Tse said the Hong Kong government should liaise with the central government to recover some of the 2,700 hectares of land currently occupied by the People’s Liberation Army for housing projects.
