Daily Lessons from Life 02 May 2010 - Capsule apartments for China's poor

"Sun, May 02, 2010 Reuters - Capsule apartments for China's poor

Welcome to Wen Jiao's home.

The cramped quarters on the outskirts of Beijing can just about fit her bed and her laptop.

The 22 year old has been jobless since she graduated from university last year, and is waiting for a breakthrough in her music career.

In the meantime money is hard to come by, so this two-metre squared capsule apartment is all Wen could afford, as the rent is just 250 Yuan, or 50 dollars per month."

I have heard of the famed Capsule Hotel in Tokyo where the embattled salaryman and corporate warriors of Japan Inc stay for a night after missing the last train for the 2-hour away home - sometimes for the 'cultured' ritual of 'bonding with colleagues whom they have spent 10- or 12-hr working together at the bars or karaoke or whatever' and thought it was alright just for a night. BUT, a capsule apartment for every night? It is very very sad.

Lessons for me are:

1. as long as the basic belief that 'land is scare' (which is ridicules in such a big country like China! and where the state own the land forever - as at today's laws) and we must milk the most from the 'scarce resources', and that making 'billion from developing property is a God-divine right', and that 'the state will also benefits from the taxes collected (not to mention the multi-million under-table money that changed hands for corrupt government officials), this 'escalating property price' phenomenal will continue. Also, the "pursue GDP growth with real estate development as the 'head of the train' chugging along" strategy stays, things will NOT change for the 'urban poor' living in a capsule apartment any faster!;

2. I emphasised 'urban poor' as some of these young graduates could have gone back to their villages or home towns and live with their parents in a place definitely bigger than the 2-sq-m capsule apartment. At the same, many won't as that is NOT the reason why they left their home towns to come to the most advance and prosperous cities in their own countries! This thing about: 'moving ahead and prospering' is something noble and aspirational. Right?;

3. I hope that Singaporeans will NEVER have to contemplate a capsule apartment. Land IS scared in Singapore. At the same time, I also asked the question: "how many people do you want to cram into this 'scared' land mass?" Another question to ask is: what type of quality of living do you want these people to living under? How many % in the upper, how many in the middle, and how many in the poor? Will it be 10% top, 30% middle, and 60% poor? When the poor is in the majority, will the politics still play the same way? Questions worth pondering as we sip red wines in the newest of the casino overlooking the multibillion Bayfront development and the surrounding million-dollar apartments!

May Capsule Apartment never come to Singapore. Amen!!