Whenever Jimmy Au gets home, her world shrinks to about the size of a parking space.  Most of the space is filled by the bunk bed she shares with her husband and son. Mrs. Au’s son often gets bruises from bumping into things. Only a curtain separates the bathroom from the kitchen.

Many Hong Kongers live this way. Their city is loaded with people. But it’s a tiny place. Heard of Rhode Island? That’s the smallest U.S. state. Hong Kong is only half its size! To make matters worse, only a small portion of Hong Kong’s hilly land works for housing. 

Tens of thousands of people live in teensy Hong Kong apartments. Most of these are smaller than a parking space. People with little money can usually afford these mini homes. 

Some officials want new rules. They want to make sure the small homes are safe and big enough to live in. Others say these new rules will backfire. What if more rules make it impossible for people to afford Hong Kong homes at all? Isn’t a tiny room better than nothing?

People have good reasons for wanting to live in Hong Kong. In general, Hong Kongers have more freedom than people living in mainland China.

Hong Kong is part of China. But it’s also not. The British government controlled Hong Kong for more than 150 years. Great Britain handed it over to China in 1997. But the Brits said Hong Kong would get to make its own laws and handle its own money for 50 years. 

Can you do the math? What year will China take back control?

It should be 2047. But China has started taking Hong Kongers’ freedoms early. 

One of China’s rules? Get rid of tiny apartments by 2049. That year marks 100 years of communist rule in China.

Why? To live well, people need freedom and space. Hong Kong’s leaders need wisdom to give people both.