Glass skyscrapers and the latest luxury cars exist side-by-side with a growing number of people who live under bridges, in subway tunnels and parks.
FELIX WONG
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 13 January, 2016, 11:10am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 13 January, 2016, 11:25am
A homeless person’s shanty in a subway in Causeway Bay. Photo: Felix Wong
In a city packed with the symbols of wealth, from glass skyscrapers to the latest luxury cars, there are a growing number who live hidden under bridges, in subway tunnels or in parks.
In fact the number of homeless people in the city hit a record high last year, almost tripling over the past decade from 600 in 2004 to 1,614 in October 2015.
Some build structures out of unwanted furniture and cardboard as protection from the wind and rain after the cost of housing rose to unaffordable levels. There are also about 250 people who have taken refuge in 24-hour fast food restaurants, earning the grim nickname “McRefugees”.
Post photographer Felix Wong captured life of those less fortunate residents forced onto the city’s streets.
One man was sleeping completely uncovered in the dim light of Tung Chau Street Park kiosk in Sham Shui Po.
Men sleep in a Mong Kok McDonald’s. Many of the fast food chain’s restaurants host homeless people overnight.
Homeless people taking shelter under a bridge next to Ferry Street in Yau Ma Tei.
A more permanent ‘home’ for people under a bridge next to Ferry Street in Yau Ma Tei.
A semi-permanent structure for homeless people under a bridge next to Public Square Street in Yau Ma Tei.
Homeless man sleeps on the street in Mong Kok.
A lion statue — traditionally a guardian of official structures — watches out for this person sleeping outside a shop in Jordan.
At this Jordan Park, a man sleeps with just a box to cover his head.
Homeless people taking shelter in Tung Chau Street Park, Sham Shui Po.
A more permanent arrangement at a subway in Causeway Bay.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1900562/lives-others-where-hong-kongs-wealth-abandons
